


No Kriffing Way! - Book 1 (M version)

by TheLoneRebels



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Angst and Humor, Background Sabezra, Bad news ahead, Bo-Fenn, Can't stop a Redhead, F/M, Fenn's pretty hot for an old dude, Fluff and Smut, Hints of the future?, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Interrupting a Mando is bad for you Health, Jedi are awfully useful things to have around aren't they?, Jettsua, Just a whole lot of Sabezra cuteness, Kanan's getting rather Deep, Kissing a Mando is good for your Health, Knight in Shining Armour Ezra, Lemons, More Inspirational Speeches, More like slaves than you realize, Protective Ezra, RIP Ursa and Tristan Wren, Reunions are Sweet, Seriously NSFW Kanera Comm Call, Staking their claim, That What the Kriff Did I Just Do Moment, The Duchess is Dead, The Love of a soulmate is Wild, Vader is VERY disappointed, What would we do without Space Dads?, kanera - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2020-10-19 19:37:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 103,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20662628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLoneRebels/pseuds/TheLoneRebels
Summary: An a.u. where Ursa & Tristan don't survive the Duchess. Now Countess Wren, Sabine comes up with some rather inspired plans that change Rebels as we know it. For the new love of her life, of course. And then we'll change it all again when Ezra becomes determined to fix everything that went wrong.  Lots of fluff, angst, action, and lemons. Mostly Sabezra with Kanera, Bo-Fenn, and Jettsu also featured. Minor background Ursich.





	1. In a New Light

**Hello there!**

**Thank you all soooooo much for checking out my story! If you like it, it's very inspiring to me if you let me know in some way, and thank you in advance for every kudos, sub, or nice review; they're my own version of caffeine. :D :D :D :D :D**

**If you have an idea for a story, check out my bio page to find out details on the chance to have a one shot written for you. **

**I now have a Facebook page where I post sneak peeks for most of the chapters I write. It also has my updating schedule for those wanting to know what I'm working on next. And if you like what you've read and are feeling inspired to show your appreciation, you can find the details on how to do so there. Just search for 'Thelonerebel's Stories' in your Facebook search bar and you should find me. :D**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Star Wars characters and any OC's that resemble real people are entirely coincidental. **

* * *

**There is an explanation of how my calendar works and a list of helpful translations for my commonly used Star Wars words in 'Flame of Hope - Everyone' if you're curious.**

* * *

**It would be fairly safe to assume that all conversations between Mandalorians that don't include anyone else are taking place in Mando'a. I am simply not going to write it that way for two reasons: One, you would have to read everything twice unless you actually understood Mando'a. And two, Mando'a is an incomplete language and it looks ridiculous when written out and more than half the words are in English because there is no translation. **

* * *

**A/N: This is the second version of the story, 'Kriff That!' Many of the scenes in this story are also in its predecessor (just updated to my new writing style), but it ended up having a different plot after a few chapters so I'm calling this a brand new story and leaving the original as is. **

* * *

**No Kriffing Way! - Book 1:**

**Mandalore**

**In A New Light:**

_D 2/1 BBY, Mandalore_

The day Ezra Bridger saved her father was the day Sabine Wren realized that Ezra was more to her than just a friend. More than her best friend even.

And you know what did it? It was the absolute fear that overtook her as the transport went over the cliff. Sabine wasn't used to being terrified, as there was very little that scared her. But the thought of losing Ezra stopped her heart. Fear for her father was in there too, but Ezra had become her world, and she didn't know when.

Time slowed to a crawl. Her heartbeat became slow and distinct and pounded like a drum in her ears. Her breath stopped. The yell of, "Ezra!" from Kanan was almost inaudible through the white noise that overtook her. The distressed beep from Chopper also barely registered.

_Ezra! Shit. Shit. Shit. Don't do this to me. Come on. Come on. Fly up. Fly up. Why didn't I give him proper lessons with the jetpack like he asked? _

And then... Then a figure flew up and over the cliff just as the last of the three transports was going over the edge.

It was her father. She hadn't seen him in years, but she'd know him anywhere. _Daddy! Thank the Manda. _Sabine remembered to breathe again for half a moment as a temporary joy ripped through her for all of one second.

_But if Father is wearing the jetpack, that means Ezra is falling. Falling down hundreds of metres to a terrible death. Frag it all to hell and back. But he's a Jedi. He can do that gravity defying landing thing. But what if he's trapped in a transport? _

_Don't just stand there idiot. Go see. Go rescue him. It's not too late._

Time was still moving one millisecond at a time when Sabine jumped off the ground and flew towards the cliff. _Thank the Force I have my own jetpack now. But I thought this thing went faster. Kriff. More speed. More speed._ She passed Kanan, who'd already taken off at a sprint for the edge of the cliff. She passed Chopper, who was also flying towards the edge of the cliff.

A hand in a familiar green glove appeared over the edge and then promptly disappeared again. Her breath caught again. _EZRA!!!!!_ Sabine literally dove for it, throwing her body almost entirely over the edge and just managing to catch onto his hand at the last second before he wasn't within reach anymore. She didn't breathe until she had a good grip on his hand and helped to pull him up as his feet scrambled for purchase.

* * *

_"Ezra!" _Kanan's voice sounded loudly in the young Jedi's mind as he pushed off the second falling transport, Force leaping with everything he had for the third. 

_"I'm a little busy right now," _Ezra thought back. 

_"So you're not in trouble, then?" _Kanan asked, still sprinting.

Ezra pushed off the third transport, eyes pinned on the cliff face way above him. _"Technically yes, but I'm pretty sure I've got this."_

Kanan snorted mentally as he slowed to a jog, now seeing Sabine dive for his Padawan. _"I'm not sure if it qualifies as 'got this' when assistance is required, but I'll let that slide."_

Ezra mentally rolled his eyes at his Master and then focused on the girl who'd just saved his ass. _I knew she would show up in the nick of time. I can always count on Sabine. Always. _

"I was wondering where you were," Ezra quipped, pretending he hadn't had a total panic moment of his own. Somehow, his plan of running and jumping up the falling transports seemed a lot stupider in hindsight even if it did more or less work. But desperate times and all that.

Once they were both standing on the safety of solid ground, Sabine and Ezra stared at each other, both coming to the realization that he'd almost died. Panting for breath now, Sabine tossed her helmet off, pulled off Ezra's so she could see his face, and grabbed Ezra's shirt in her fists, pulling him right into her personal space. She narrowed her eyes at him fiercely. "Don't DO that to me, Ezra!" Sabine growl yelled as she stared into his absolutely stunning electric blue eyes that she'd been pretending for years weren't the most gorgeous eyes in the galaxy ever.

_You think I planned all that? _Ezra tried to shrug off the tension with a dorky half grin. "I couldn't let your father die, now could I? You'd murder me in my sleep."

_Never. But a good ass kicking is still an option. _Sabine's eyes narrowed further and a dangerous sounding growl escaped her, making Ezra's eyes widen in trepidation. She pulled him even closer by her grip on his shirt. Much to both of their surprise, Sabine pressed her mouth to his in a quick, hard kiss. As Ezra blinked at her in absolute shock, Sabine let go of his shirt like it was on fire. _Holy shit, what did I just do? _ "That's for saving my father." Then she punched him as hard as she could in the shoulder, almost knocking him right back off the edge of the cliff. "And that's for scaring me to death!" _Frag, frag, frag, I kissed him! I kissed Ezra. Why'd I do that? Escape. Before he sees me turning redder than a tomato. _

As Ezra regained his balance, barely even noticing the throbbing pain in his shoulder from her not so gentle punch, he watched her in speechless wonder as she bent down and grabbed her helmet, jamming it on her head and then flying off to the next cliff ledge above them. _Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming. She kissed me and she only ever kisses me in my dreams. But they're usually a lot sweeter or hotter than that. And dream Sabine doesn't punch me. I must be awake._ He had the ridiculous urge to pinch himself anyway, to double check. _Force, I never thought this would actually happen. I don't even care that it wasn't a long kiss or even in a loving fashion, because it was real. _

And it was his first one. Ezra was going to treasure the memory of that forever.

He was still standing in the same spot, a cheesy grin on his face, staring up at where Sabine had disappeared when Kanan, Alrich, and Chopper joined him.

"So... Just friends, hmmm?" Alrich Wren said teasingly.

_Oh shit. I did just babble a bunch of bantha poodoo about us being just friends and that I wasn't WITH with her, didn't I? _Ezra turned to look at Sabine's father and he felt himself turning somewhat red. "That's what I thought, I swear."

Alrich and Kanan laughed at him. Even Chopper beeped out his version of laughter.

Ezra flushed darker. _Bury me. _

Kanan put a comforting arm across Ezra's shoulders. "Try not to overthink it too much or you'll give yourself a headache. Just let her figure herself out, and I'm pretty sure you'll like the results."

_Really? You're the expert, I guess. _Ezra looked up at his Master / father figure with a raised brow. "So you're cool with it if this actually turns into something?" Ezra asked tentatively.

Kanan shrugged. "Honestly, yes. I'd be a horrible hypocrite if I said otherwise. I AM married, after all. You might want to ask her father the same question though. He might have a different opinion."

_Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me. _Ezra turned questioning, hopeful eyes back to Alrich. "ARE you okay with Sabine and I... umm. I don't even know what to call it. Dating? I guess? If that wasn't a fluke, that is."

Alrich pretended to look thoughtful, drawing out the suspense for as long as he could without cracking up. He'd only known this boy for maybe two minutes total and he'd already decided he liked him, Jedi or not. When the young man started to fiddle with the hem of his orange jacket and his expression of hope fell to something decidedly resigned, Alrich figured he better put him out of his misery.

_Force, he hates me. He's taking too long to answer. Mandos hate Jedi. I'm doomed. _Ezra looked up when he felt a hand that wasn't Kanan's grasp his shoulder and met the amber brown eyes that looked a lot like Sabine's. _Not as pretty on a man, that's for sure, _he thought distractedly, still waiting for a positive answer from the man. 

"I'm fine with it, if that's what my daughter wants," Alrich reassured, squeezing the boy's shoulder gently. He grinned when the young Jedi's face lit up. "But... I can't speak for my Countess. She's a little more traditional, and I can't see her jumping for joy at the thought of a Jedi in the family."

Ezra went through a variety of emotions in only a couple of sentences. There was excitement at the prospect of maybe dating Sabine in more than his dreams. Then there was trepidation and maybe a little bit of fear at the prospect of dealing with Sabine's mother. _That was one seriously scary woman_. Then there was shock at Alrich suggesting he'd be a family member. As in... Marriage. _Holy nerfherders, I haven't even begun to think about that possibility with Sabine yet. I was still in the wishful thinking stage for a real kiss._ The whole shebang with living together, and marriage, and KIDS was just beyond him right now. Then again, this was probably all wishful thinking and planning for naught. There was no way Sabine would ever change her mind about him and see him as something more than an annoying kid who might be her friend when she's in the right mood. The whole brief kiss thing was just her letting her emotions take over again and she'd regret it as soon as she thought about it. Her running away right after was proof of that.

Ezra smiled tightly at Alrich. "Yeah, well. I doubt the Countess will have to worry about that too much. Sabine will probably just brush it off as a heat of the moment thing and nothing will come of it."

Kanan clapped him on the back with a smile and a strong burst of confidence booster through their bond. "Don't be so quick to dismiss what I just saw as nothing. Sabine surprised me with that one. And I doubt you noticed, since you were kind of preoccupied with not falling to your death at the time, but she was terrified for you. It was very clear to feel in the Force. I think she might have feelings for you too." Ezra looked at Kanan with clear surprise and Kanan chuckled. "Don't give me that look. I've always known you liked her, as it's kind of hard not to notice your emotions through the bond."

Ezra scoffed lightly and called his helmet from the ground with an absent gesture of his hand, tucking it under his arm. _Like is an understatement. More like adore her very being. I'm so hopelessly gone on her my heart barely beats when we're apart. But no one needs to know that sad fact. _He squared his shoulders and faced Sabine's father and held out his free hand to shake. "Sorry, we've done this all backwards, sir," he said apologetically. "But I'm Ezra Bridger and this is my Master, Kanan Jarrus, and we're here to rescue you." Ezra managed to keep a straight face as the older men snorted in amusement at his deadpan humour.

Alrich shook the hand of the young man, liking him even more. "It's nice to meet you, Ezra Bridger.

Ezra and Alrich glanced up at the sky when Kanan (without even moving his masked head) said, "She's coming back. Pretend we weren't just talking about her if you value your life." He was only half joking.

The guys shared a commiserating look before Ezra put his helmet back on to hide his still confused emotions. Alrich shrugged out of Ezra's jetpack and handed it back to him with a, "Thank you, young Jedi. I owe you my life."

As Ezra shrugged into the heavy set of thrusters, he shrugged negligently. "It was nothing. Not succeeding wasn't an option. Sabine would ensure me a life of misery if I failed to rescue you. I had one job, after all."

Kanan barked out a laugh as Alrich Wren stared at Ezra with wide eyes for a moment. He too was laughing when Sabine landed in front of them, and Bo-Katan Kryze and Fenn Rau did the same but off to the side. 

The men all sobered instantly.

* * *

Sabine was almost shaking as she flew away from Ezra. "What the kriffing hell was that?" she said to herself as she landed far out of sight from the others and kicked a rock in frustration, watching it bounce and skitter across the ground.

Somehow, Sabine had lost her mind and KISSED Ezra. It wasn't even a good kiss. It was a mashing of mouths for a second and a half that didn't really qualify as anything. But it was still a kiss, no matter how you looked at it. _I must have lost three quarters of my IQ to do something so incredibly stupid. And in front of Father no less._

Sabine stomped across the ground and kicked another rock, finding immense satisfaction in how far it flew. "Di'kut, di'kut, di'kut," she muttered. She'd worked so hard to groom Ezra into a friends only category where everything was pretty much perfect between them. No awkward flirting. No expectations. It had been so easy to talk to him. Now she'd ruined everything. Ezra would get his hopes up again, and start looking at her with those big royal blue eyes like she was shabla perfect again.

Sabine didn't want him to think of her as perfect. She liked it the way it was. She liked that Ezra just saw her for who she was and didn't really judge her. She liked that they could count on each other for anything, as FRIENDS. She liked him as he was too. She liked how they could spend hours talking about everything and nothing. She liked how he had dedicated himself to being a Jedi and taking care of his family and the galaxy as best as he could. She liked him more every day, it seemed.

Sabine came to a dead halt and her eyes widened behind her helmet. _Bloody hell. I LIKE like him!_ _When had that happened?_ She hadn't seen him in months, but had missed him like crazy. Of course, Sabine had just written that off as not feeling like Krownest was her home anymore, so she was longing for people who did. Then he appeared in the Wren stronghold asking for help and her heart had skipped a beat or two to see him again, looking a fraction taller and more filled out, but she hadn't actually noticed that, not in the forefront of her mind. Now though, it was all she could think about as she replayed the scene on the edge of the cliff. She'd had to stand on her toes to kiss him, since he had no idea it was coming and hadn't bent down at all.

Ezra was growing up in more ways than one. And somewhere in the last few days, she'd noticed, at least subconsciously. He still cracked jokes, and couldn't seem to figure out a sense of decorum to save his life, but beneath that, he was definitely more mature in his attitude towards everything. There was a calmness to him now that reminded her more and more of how Kanan carried himself. _Which is not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination. Hera sure hit the jackpot when she found that one. _

There had been a time when Sabine had had a crush on Kanan; he was so handsome and caring and wise. He wasn't too much terribly older than her either. Twelve years is not an insurmountable age difference. But he'd clearly belonged to Hera right from the start, so she'd never let her teenage crush go further than a few nighttime fantasies. 

_I wonder when I stopped fantasizing about Kanan? A couple years ago, maybe? My current imaginary lover is quite faceless right now. I wonder if that was my subconscious subtly not letting me pick another crush to dream about because it knew the person I really wanted was right in front of me as well, just not old enough yet to qualify? _

Sabine sighed as a new internal battle raged within her. What did she do about Ezra now? Because she needed to make a choice sooner than later. Her mother had been hinting at finding her a husband, which had only filled Sabine with dread. But now, as she realized that perhaps Ezra might be the one for her, the thought of marrying him didn't make her want to run to the furthest possible planet away from him. That alone should have been enough of a deciding factor.

But it wasn't. Not just yet.

Sabine started pacing back and forth as her mind whirled. If she was going to choose Ezra, she needed to make sure it was one hundred percent what her heart wanted and not just a passing thing. Because once she picked a husband, there was no undoing it. Not for the rest of her life. And she couldn't play with him and then toss him away if it didn't feel right anymore. She couldn't do that to him. Sabine could never hurt him like that. Ever.

_Okay, that's a good first step. I can't hurt Ezra emotionally. That definitely means something._ (Physically, she could still kick his ass if he deserved it or if they were sparring. That was a given.)

Could she picture herself living with Ezra for the rest of her life? She snorted to herself and smiled just a little as the quick answer of _YES! _flew through her mind. He might be goofy, messy, and occasionally annoying, but he was also incredibly sweet, kind, determined, humble (most of the time), strong (both physically and mentally), smart (when he tried), easy to talk to, great at listening, and (this was the hardest to admit) hotter than most movie stars. So yes, she could picture living with him for the rest of her life.

Next, (and she blushed to think it), could she actually picture herself kissing Ezra for real? _Yes._ Could she picture herself touching him? _Yes._ Could she picture herself in a bed with him, sleeping together and... other things? _Ooooo, yes! _Sabine bit her lip as a little thrill of desire shot through her as pictures formed in her mind. _I wonder what he looks like naked? I know his tushy is pretty much perfect and his package looks big enough under his shorts... Uhhhh… When did I check out his shorts? Stars, my subconscious has been doing all of this without me!_ Sabine flushed as her pulse thumped rapidly through her veins. She felt a little pervy for thinking all this, but then she remembered how Ezra used to check her out and all but beg for attention when he first met her. Guilt gone, a tooka-like smile crossed her lips._ I bet he has incredible stamina. Hera said Kanan could go for hours because of his connection to the Force. By the Mando, I want some of that. My toys can't possibly compare to the real thing. _

_Okay. Time for a new line of thought. Things are getting seriously overheated in my bodysuit. And I didn't even let myself think of Ezra as a desirable person until a minute ago, so maybe we should turn off the mental porno. _

Too bad her mind wasn't cooperating as a new image of a naked Ezra popped into her mind. He was poised over her and lavishing attention to her breasts. _Eeep! Bad Sabine! Bad!_ And then her traitorous mind started imagining what he'd look like with his head buried between her legs. And then she started wondering what it would be like to kiss him with the taste of their desire on their tongues. And then she wondered if the very large imaginary phallus she gave him would feel different (hopefully better) from her favourite masturbatory aid. 

Her now molten core pulsed with eager enthusiasm at exploring all of her ideas, making Sabine stumble slightly in her pacing. 

"Argghh," she muttered and marched back to edge of the upper cliff. _This is ridiculous. __I'm going to come in a puddle from my imagination alone. _The only way to get these images to stop was to give herself something else real to think about. And thinking of her father was the biggest mood killer she could think of. So she flew back to where he was, standing with Ezra, Kanan, Chopper, and Bo-Katan and Fenn, who were just joining the little group.

Sabine landed in front of them and took off her helmet and addressed the man she hadn't seen for almost five years, very carefully not looking at Ezra or the front of his trousers. "Father."

Her apparently touch deprived female parts gave up clamouring for attention as soon as she was in the vicinity of more people, including the two father figures in her life. 

_Excellent. _

But that didn't help the damp state of her undershorts. 

_Oh well. _

* * *

Ezra watched the reunion between father and daughter with a smile in his heart and gracing his lips. _Force, she's gorgeous when she's talking about her art in that animated fashion. And she really is a lot like her father. Kind of like a blend between both her parents, actually. _ It was so good to see her reunited with him in a way that was almost the exact opposite of her reunion with her mother. _Ursa Wren really is a scary woman._ Instead of threats and disapproval, there were hugs and teasing. Sabine just felt so happy in the Force in that moment. _I wish I could keep her in this happy state for the rest of our lives._

Ezra exchanged pleased blind glances with Kanan, communicating through their bond how nice this was to see. Ezra closed his eyes and pictured the scene the way Kanan saw it, using his Force senses only.

Sabine and her father glowed warmly in the Force, contentment and joy radiating from both of them and reaching towards each other within their Force signatures in a way that told Ezra they used to have a very close bond once upon a time. Being separated from her father must have devastated Sabine greatly. At least everything was right again now.

Ezra took off his helmet and smiled at Sabine, letting her see how happy he was for her. She flicked a glance at him, and a tiny smile quirked her mouth in return in the midst of her banter with her father about her art skills. _Yay, she looked at me. She's not completely pissed off about the whole kissing and falling thing. _

Hoping to catch more of her attention, Ezra made some inane comment about now understanding where Sabine had gotten her artistic side from, and not expecting her father to be an artist too. _Definitely a good thing. _He'd been imagining Alrich as a warrior type who didn't want any boys to get within a hundred metres of his daughter and had been dreading the first meeting. Turns out he had nothing to worry about and easily liked the father better than the mother. Somehow, Sabine's warrior side just excited him, whereas her mother's warrior side (which was all of her, she had no other sides as far as he could tell), just flat out intimidated him. Which was pathetic, if you thought about it, considering he was a Jedi and could theoretically take care of himself against the Countess if she ever decided to kill him. But then again, he could never hurt Sabine's mother, because, well, she was Sabine's mother. _Annnnnddd that leaves me back where I started; petrified of Ursa Wren for various reasons. _

_Grow a pair, Ezra. Sabine will never respect you if you can't stand up to her mother._

_Yeah. Yeah. I'm working on it, _he told himself. 

Sabine, on the other hand, had so many sides to her that he adored. Besides her warrior personality (which she depended on more often than not), there was her artistic side, her playful side, her genius side, her (very) occasional girly side, and best of all, her caring side. She cared more than she let on. She cared what people thought. She cared about her family (both of them). She cared about people in need. She cared that the galaxy wasn't as perfect as it should be. He'd thought it a million times before, and he would continue to think it until the end of time; _Sabine is perfect._

And there was nothing she could do to make him think otherwise.


	2. Thine Eyes Doth See

**Thine Eyes Doth See: **

And then the Duchess happened, and Ezra realized that Sabine wasn't perfect.

She was human. She made mistakes. She hurt. Actually, she was damn near broken after losing so many of her Clan. But she fought on, because that's who she was. Sabine wasn't a quitter.

It only made him love her more.

* * *

Sabine was genuinely happy as she talked with her father. It had been so LONG. And after the initial awkward moment, it was like they'd never been parted; teasing about art like old times.

Ezra, of course, had to get his own word in, but she didn't mind, not with how her father responded. And he was right. Mother really did love to destroy her enemies in the most creative ways. _Too bad I was one of them._

But they'd moved past that. After a few months of proving herself a worthy clan member again, Mother was actually starting to trust her once more. It was a good feeling, even if the Wren Stronghold didn't exactly feel as much like home as it should.

More than anything, Sabine had enjoyed spending time with her little brother again. _Little. Ha. That certainly doesn't apply anymore._ Tristan had grown a LOT while she was gone. She didn't remember her grandfather very well, but she did remember he'd been a massive man. Tristan was definitely taking after him, and at only seventeen, Tristan was nowhere near done growing and filling out. She could tell how proud Mother was of him. He was a dutiful son. He hadn't betrayed their people. He was a strong warrior.

He was pretty much perfect.

But Sabine couldn't resent Tristan. She never would. He should have been the eldest. He would have made a much better leader for their clan than she ever would. Sabine didn't know what she was going to do when her mother was ready to step down. For the time being, she was simply pretending that her mother would remain the Countess forever and not thinking about the day when she was supposed to take over the job.

Tomorrow, Sabine would think that Fate, or the Force, or whatever, must have been laughing at her the last time she'd told Mother that dealing with Clan business matters was not her problem and she wasn't ready yet to learn about them.

Her mother had insisted anyway.

She was ever the pragmatic one. And efficient. And ruthless. And right. _In that instance, anyway._

And she proved it once again as Sabine listened to her voice via Fenn's commlink, after he'd told the Countess that they'd rescued her husband.

**"Then we have two victories today. Saxon's forces are in retreat."** Sabine couldn't help but smile slightly at the sound of her mother's WESTARs in full voice as she pictured her chasing stormtroopers across the desolate landscape.

Tristan's voice came over the comm next a few seconds later. **"Hold on. They're not all running. Looks like we've got an incoming Imperial transport."**

"Reinforcements to cover their retreat?" Sabine asked, getting closer to Fenn so Tristan could hear her. _That was highly unusual. What has Saxon got hiding up his vambrace this time?_

**"They deployed a single scout walker. With no other support. It's moving into attack position,"** Tristan said, the confusion in his voice just as apparent as what Sabine was feeling.

Her mother scoffed. **"Laughable. Destroy it."**

And that was when Sabine heard it over the comm; the sound that haunted her nightmares and kept her up for hours afterwards with tears leaving frozen trails on her face.

The high pitched whine was the sound of her greatest mistake.

_Oh, no. No. No. NO. NO!_

"That sound. It can't be," Sabine said through a suddenly constricted throat. Heart hammering in panic, Sabine called, "Tristan, get out of there NOW!"

_Come on. Come on. Please. Don't do this to me. How did Saxon get the Duchess? _

When no one answered after a couple of seconds, she called again. "Mother? Tristan?"

_Why don't they answer? Surely they had enough time to fly away? But what if they're not wearing jetpacks? Oh stars. _

Sabine felt faint and nauseous. She barely swallowed back the bile that flooded her throat.

Ezra watched Sabine with growing concern. She'd paled to the colour of old snow and her emotions were screaming in the Force of pain and self-blame. _What's going on? _

A glow filled the sky in the distance, catching his attention. It was coming from the direction where the bulk of their forces were dealing with the majority of the Saxon and Imperial troops. _Oh Force. That can't be good._ "What is that?"

Sabine was literally shaking as she turned around and caught sight of what Ezra had seen. She'd seen that glow firsthand. She knew exactly what it meant. _And how I wish I didn't. _Crying out an anguished, "Nooooo!" she jammed her helmet on and took off for the distant battlefield which she already knew was probably now a graveyard.

Ezra followed after Sabine as fast as he could, thanking the Force that the jetpack had been returned to him before this had happened. He left behind him a frazzle of concerned emotions, but none more so than that of Sabine's father. _Kriff, I have a bad feeling about this. Really bad. _

Sabine flew with a whirling mind that eventually just went blank out of self preservation, her only focus; reaching the blast site. She landed a couple minutes later, seeing nothing but a couple of flaming transports and ashes on the ground with blackened pieces of beskar armour in heaps here and there.

This was exactly what she'd been afraid she'd see.

But it was even worse than what she'd imagined.

She tossed off her helmet and knelt by the nearest pile of blackened and flaking armour, her emotions in a state of devastated shock. "No, no," she cried as self loathing filled her. _I'm the worst daughter of Mandalore of all time. I wish the Empire had killed me all those years ago when I caught them testing the Duchess on real people. _

Ezra landed near Sabine, looking around the battlefield as a sense of extreme sorrow filled the Force around him. _This is awful. _

The scene was depressing as hell, but not as much as the sight of a small Mando girl kneeling in the crusted red dirt, shoulders slumped, and cheerfully coloured cream and purple head bowed. She was like a blotch of much needed colour in a world of devastation. Except he was sure she wouldn't appreciate the comparison at the moment. 

As Ezra tentatively stepped towards her, he sent a little nudge towards Kanan, who was arriving on an air bike with Lord Wren, just wanting some reassurance that SOMETHING was still all right with his world. Kanan sent a sad little nudge back, both of them realizing that something truly awful had happened. "What happened here?" Ezra said aloud to anyone who cared to answer. He didn't think it would be Sabine, though.

It turned out no one had an answer, or if they did, they didn't voice it, for the question was left hanging in the strangely electrified air. Ezra's skin was nearly jumping with it.

He took another step towards Sabine, not sure what to do. He'd never seen her like this before. Not even when they were training with the Darksabre and he'd thought that was the most depressed he'd ever see her get. The pain she'd radiated then had nothing on the pain she was broadcasting now. Nothing.

Bo-Katan stepped up beside him. She too was feeling a lot of shock and pain that he couldn't miss unless he slammed his shields closed entirely. "Where are the survivors of this battle? The wounded? The victors?" she asked, just as confused as Ezra.

"I see only the defeated," came the resigned sounding voice of Alrich from behind him.

_I guess the victors booted it out of here already._

Sabine gave a strangled sob that shot straight to his heart. _Kriff. If no one else is going to comfort her, then I am. Or at least I'll try. _

Ezra stepped forward and his boot sent up a cloud of ash, drawing his eyes downward. He paused and frowned at the crispy metal before he understood what he was looking at. "Mandalorian armour? What could do this?"

"A weapon did this," Alrich said in that same resigned and defeated tone, walking up beside him, his previously proud bearing long gone. "A weapon created by my daughter."

_She would never. She loves her people too much to ever invent something that could harm them. Her father must be wrong. _

But as Ezra looked at him, at the sad slump to his shoulders, and then over the metre or so left between him and Sabine and saw the way she trembled in misery, he knew that Lord Wren told the truth; Sabine had invented a weapon that turned Mandos into crispy toast. _No wonder she was in such pain. It would be like me killing my own family with my lightsabre in my sleep or something. _Everything she said on Atollon a few months ago finally made sense. Now he knew why she never talked about how she'd come to be outcast from her home.

_Frag, no wonder she's beyond devastated. _

"There were rumours the Empire was working on a weapon to neutralize Mandalorian armour. That it had even been tested on our people. I didn't believe it." Bo-Katan's voice now said that she did. And the undercurrent of anger she was starting to feel was not a good thing. Not if it was going to be directed at Sabine.

Sabine finally spoke, her voice broken and torn. "Not the Empire. Me. This is all my fault."

_Frag. I can't leave her like this. She's self-destructing from the inside out. _Her signature felt nearly black with pain and self-loathing.

Ezra moved to kneel beside her, putting his helmet on the ground and touching her trembling back tentatively. Then he did his best to help her feel better, pulling as much of her sorrow from her as he could and into himself, then giving it to the Force. "Sabine, you can't blame yourself for this. Nothing involving the Empire could ever be your fault."

She turned to look at him with broken, tear filled eyes. "Everything my father said was true, Ezra. This is my work. I created the weapon that did this. And because of me, the Empire is going to turn my world into a graveyard. Because of me, Mandalorians are going to die. My mother and brother are dead, Ezra." She paused for a moment as she gulped on a sob and then croaked out, "Because of me." She gasped out another sob filled shudder of air before adding, "I'm vile."

_Oh, my poor warrior goddess. No you're not. And I'll always love you, no matter what._

He was very tempted to say it out loud, but fear of being rejected kept his mouth closed. But he couldn't leave her like this, so he offered physical comfort instead.

Hoping he wasn't overstepping their friendship, he did what Kanan had done for him when he found out for sure that his parents were gone; he opened his arms and pulled her against his chest and held her while she cried her heart out. Ezra brushed a hand over her flower coloured hair over and over and murmured nonsense soothing words as sobs wracked her small frame. _I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm sorry you lost your mom and brother. I wish I could bring them back for you. _

Ezra looked up as the others came to stand around them.

Kanan was sending as much comfort as he could to both of them through the Force, but he doubted Sabine was feeling it. Ezra was grateful for his efforts though.

Sabine's father had his own tears streaming down his face as he realized that he'd just lost his wife and son, who he hadn't seen in months as he was held captive by the Saxon traitors. Kanan put a hand on his shoulder in comfort, subtly helping him with his emotions the same way Ezra was with Sabine. Alrich gave him a look of gratitude just for being there, despite the fact that they were essentially strangers.

Fenn had his helmet on, so Ezra couldn't see his face, but he could feel sympathy in his emotions. _He's come a long way from when he hated Sabine and I. _

And Bo-Katan? She was building up into something that didn't bode well for Sabine. _Weren't there a few of her clan helping out with this mission as well? Karabast, they're probably dead too._ The Mandalorian woman was taking this loss personally as she realized the deadly implications for her people. Ezra was going to have to watch her. Kanan understood too, as his masked head turned towards her and a frown turned down his mouth, making deep grooves in his cheeks.

Chopper suddenly started beeping rapidly about picking up approaching comm signals and multiple biometric readings.

"Chopper's picked up something," Kanan explained for the benefit of anyone who didn't understand the astromech's antiquated form of binary.

"Survivors?" Bo-Katan asked hopefully, overriding her current anger for the moment.

"No. The Empire's coming back to finish the job," Fenn said as he looked to the sky, his voice filled with anger.

* * *

Sabine fell into Ezra's arms gratefully, needing to be held right now more than she ever had in her entire life. The pain of her past and its consequences was almost more than she could bear. But with Ezra holding her close, and his hands rubbing her soothingly, and his voice whispering that it was going to be okay, maybe not right now, but eventually, Sabine felt like she might just have enough fight left in her to keep going.

_Stars, I didn't know how much I need him in my life until now. Who else would hold me without judging? Who else would tell me that it's not my fault? Okay, maybe Hera and Kanan would too, but there isn't anyone else's arms I'd rather be in. _

_You could stop crying any time now; his jacket is getting drenched. _

_You're going to be all blotchy._

_I doubt Ezra would care. You're finally in his arms where he's hinted for years that he wants you._

_And we're not being shot at at the same time. What a concept._

She sniffed, trying to get some of the excess fluids to clear away from her nasal passages so she could breath properly again.

_By the Mando, he feels nice. And he smells good. Really good. Who knew essence of human male sweat and dirt could be so attractive? Maybe it's just Ezra. I'm all right with that. _

Her tears were finally starting to dry up as she distracted herself with much nicer thoughts than what had made her start weeping like a leaky watering pot in the first place when Chopper started beeping. She was wiping her face on a dry spot on Ezra's jacket when Fenn said the Empire was coming back.

_I guess I spoke too soon about the not getting shot at thing. Figures._

"Sabine," Ezra said gently. "I know this sucks but..."

She cut him off as she looked up at him and determination filled her, replacing the empty space in her chest. "I know. And they're going to pay." She touched his cheek for one brief second, suddenly so thankful that he was back in her life. Then she stood, drawing the Darksabre from the back of her belt and glaring at the approaching figures flying in on Mandalorian jetpacks but wearing Imperial marked armour. The ancient black lightsabre gave a satisfying snap hiss as she ignited it, reflecting her mood perfectly. Ezra's lightsabre made a gentler hum as he turned his on as well, but its song was a perfect accompaniment to her own weapon as they readied for battle. (Just like their real life partnership.)

Her eyes narrowed in disgust at the approaching enemy, the red Imperial emblems on their white uniforms an instant trigger for her as memories of Gar Saxon invading the Krownest stronghold flashed through her mind. 

_More traitors!_

Sabine growled in rage and flew up towards the nearest one, taking the man out with a body check in the sky and forcing him to the ground. She sliced the blaster he pointed at her in half and then cut off his head, all her sympathy for the life of another being completely gone at the moment, letting her rage at herself translate to others more loathsome than her. _At least I left the Empire when I realized what a hypocritical, backstabbing, controlling entity it was. These traitors to the Mandalorian way of life deserve whatever they get. _

_Death is too good for them. But they'll die anyway. _

Her breath stuttered as a realization too hold.

_Death is too good for me, too. I have to make things right again. I deserve to live with what I've done. _

With one Super Commando taken care of, and resolution in her heart, Sabine looked for another target. Spotting one creeping up on Ezra as he protected her father, Sabine drew a blaster in less than an instant with her free hand and shot him in the small space between his shoulder armour and his helmet, not taking the chance that his armour would stop the shot.

And then she moved on, her sole focus the annihilation of every single traitor to her people, wishing it would also make her feel better about her own betrayal of them. In the little corner of her mind that she'd shoved her emotions to so she could focus, that still whimpered in pain, she knew it wouldn't.

* * *

Ezra was trying to get Alrich out of the kill zone, the man having nothing in the way of armour or weapons to defend himself. He was determined that Sabine was not going to lose her last parent. _Not on my watch._

They'd almost made it to the speeder bike when three TIEs joined the fray and one of them shot the bike, exploding it right in his face.

_Fraaaagggggg! _

_Flying!_

_Crashing! _

_Ow. Ugh. That one hurt. Landing on a jetpack is not recommended. Why am I wearing this thing again?_

Ezra dragged himself up off the ground and looked for Alrich. He was just sitting up only a metre away and looking a little dazed, but otherwise unhurt. Ezra was really really happy he'd taken the time to put his helmet back on before going on the defensive, because he'd be in bad shape right now without it. As is, he felt a few places on his body that throbbed from being struck by shrapnel but at least he didn't appear to be bleeding anywhere. _This would have been a good time to be covered in armour._

Pushing aside the pain to the back of his mind, he helped Alrich to his feet, who also looked okay, if a little less well groomed. "Are you okay?"

The older man nodded slowly. "You?"

"Better than the bike," he replied, forcing his tone into something resembling joking. With that came a little warning in the Force and Ezra stuck his green lightsabre out, blocking the shot that would have taken Alrich out and deflecting it right back to the shooter. The Imperial Mando fell with a scream and a burnt hole in his chest armour. _Ugh. I'm clearly not on my game. That is not the arm I aimed for. Sorry, man. We'll just pretend I did that on purpose, shall we? Mando father to impress, after all. _Turning his helmeted head to the older man, he calmly said, "Right. I guess we're not going to get you out of here so let's try for some cover by that transport over there."

Alrich nodded, wide eyed. He was more impressed with Sabine's young Jedi the longer he knew him.

"Stay right behind me," Ezra instructed as he started moving, taking in the situation as he went.

Ezra scanned the battlefield, searching for Kanan, relieved to see him having what looked like a blast with a couple of flyers as he jumped up on them and took out their jetpacks and then landed lightly on the ground again as they fell like rocks and didn't get up again. _Force, he's good at jumping. I really need to work on that some more. _

Sabine was still on the warpath, the bright white and purple of her hair easy to spot. He wished she had put her helmet on first, but there was no time now to get it for her. It didn't look like he'd get her to stop long enough to do it herself, either. _Stubborn, focused, warrior girl. Stars, she's hot when she's in warrior mode. _

Ezra winced as the Darksabre removed another man's head from his shoulders.

_But, geez, she could cool it with the brutal kills. I thought she was past her old need to kill everything in sight. I guess she's in revenge mode right now. Best to just let her work through it if I want to keep my own head attached. _

Fenn and Bo-Katan were fighting on the ground in hand to hand combats with their own opponents, and Chopper had picked up a fallen blaster and was taking pot shots at anything that moved in white armour while cackling madly. _Gotta love that droid._

"Lady Kryze!" Ezra yelled across the way, hoping to get her attention. They could really use a pick up right now. _Where's Hera when you need her? _Ezra doubted they'd last long enough to send Chopper back to camp to get his Gauntlet. It was too far away. Chopper probably didn't have enough fuel left to make it anyway. And the Imps where bound to send more TIEs sooner or later. They were lucky there were only three of them so far.

"Lady Kryze!"

She still didn't hear him. She was a little occupied at the moment anyway, kicking the shit out of a man nearly twice her weight. _Impressive. Must have gone to the same School of Ass Kicking that Sabine went to. _

They were winning the ground battle easily, but the TIEs were a concern as they circled overhead and blasted at them from above. _And there's no kriffing cover left out here._ The TIEs had already blown up the remaining transports to bits every time Ezra and Alrich came near one. Ezra concentrated on tracking their shots and continued to protect Alrich, eyes everywhere and his Force senses wide open in search of danger. He literally spun circles around the man, deflecting laser blasts left and right, ignoring the heavy weight of the jetpack on his shoulders. _Is it just me or are they aiming for Lord Wren on purpose? Even the flyers had been particularly interested in taking him out before their numbers were wheedled down and now they had better things to focus on. _

_Like not getting beheaded by a raging Mando girl in colourful armour._

* * *

Bo was taking her rage out on the Mandalorian traitors wearing Imperial markings and exalting in it. Her actions were automatic as she went after each with the fury that coursed through her like molten lava. Her mind was screaming an endless stream of obscenities at them and at the girl who'd invented such an abominable weapon. A weapon who'd just taken away three of her clan; one of whom had been very close to her. 

Somewhere in the background of her mind, she noticed the others fighting with her. The older Jedi seemed quite impressive with his Force leaping abilities and very efficient in disarming and knocking out opponents. The younger Jedi appeared to be protecting Alrich in a satisfactory fashion. The girl who'd caused all of this was fighting like a demon possessed and actually gave Bo pause in her half thought out plan of challenging her to a duel. Lord Rau of the Protectors was fighting just as fiercely as she was and seemed impressive enough in his skill. Even the outdated astromech was shooting at the enemy with apparent glee. She'd never seen such a bloodthirsty droid and found herself liking him more with every minute. 

Over the noise in her mind, Bo was fairly certain she heard her name being called and couldn't figure out why for a precious minute. But then she observed the TIEs taking potshots at her cousin and it finally registered that they needed help of the aerial variety.

After taking out her latest opponent with a vicious slash of her knife across the neck, Bo triggered the comm unit in her helmet. "Kar. Kar are you there?"

**"I'm here. What do you need?" **her ever faithful second-in-command responded.

"We need a pickup, and fast. We've got TIEs trying to pick off Alrich like he's the galaxy's most wanted," she huffed as she ran after a traitor trying to flee the scene.

**"I'm on my way. ETA three minutes."**

"Thanks, Kar."

**"No worries. What's going on over there, anyway?"**

Bo grit her teeth to hold back the painful emotions that wanted to flood her and distract her from her vengeance. "Nothing good. I'll explain in detail later, but the short version is that we've lost everyone who was on the diverting team."

Kar sounded like she felt when he said, **"Everyone?"**

"Everyone." Her heart was like a lump of coal in her chest at having to confirm it.

**"The Wrens? Korkie? Justin? Sunny?"**

"Yes." It was all she could say.

**"By the Manda," **he breathed out on a pained gasp.

"Yes." 

**"Thirty seconds. They will pay." **

Bo smiled brutally at the venom in Kar's voice and at the Mandalorian Imp she'd just shot to death. 

* * *

By the time most of the flying Mandos wearing Imperial white were either dead or moaning on the ground, a Gauntlet ship in Kryze colours came screaming through the sky, guns blazing, taking out a TIE, before landing close to Bo-Katan and lowering the ramp. Ezra couldn't have been happier to see it. _Lady Kryze must have found some time to call for help without any prompting from me. Thank frag. _

"Come on!" Fenn yelled at everyone on their side.

Everyone did.

Except Sabine. Of course.

She seemed rather determined to take out every last one of the enemy.

Ezra was about to go get her, but Kanan beat him to it, Force jumping to her in an instant and grabbing her arm and talking some sense into her. Ezra watched in relief from the top of the ramp as Sabine gave up fighting and ran towards them instead, scooping up her helmet on the way by. _Well, you know she's not too out of it if she remembered her precious helmet. Thank the stars. Hopefully she calms down now. _

As Kanan and Sabine ran up the ramp, it started to close and the ship took off again.

Alrich immediately gathered Sabine into his arms as soon as she was within the ship. Ezra's chest hurt for them as they remembered their shared grief again. "I'm so sorry, Father," he heard her say softly.

Alrich kissed the top of her head and hugged her tighter. "This wasn't your fault," he replied.

"But..."

"It wasn't," Alrich insisted, and Sabine kind of sagged a little in his arms as she understood that her father didn't blame her, hiding her face deeper in his shoulder.

_That's good, she needed that. _

Kanan stood beside Ezra, his hand on his shoulder. They didn't need words between them. They could feel the other's emotions more than well enough. Just being together was plenty.

Ezra wished that had been the end of it, but it wasn't. They were still being pursued by the last two TIEs. Everyone could feel it as shots rocked the shields.

And then the shields gave up and a shot hit something important. Ezra heard it as the sound of the engines changed to something not so healthy. Sabine ran off to fix the ship as one of Lady Kryze's clan mates called over the ship comm that they were losing power and the weapons were down.

Ezra moved to follow her, eager to help anyway he could, but an unexpected hand held him back by his jetpack, making him jerk backwards. He watched Sabine go with his heart in his eyes, thankful his helmet was hiding them at the moment, before turning his focus to the older Mandalorian woman. "What?"

Bo-Katan pulled him with her as she hit a button and the cargo bay door opened in the floor. "Come on, kid," she said to him with a jerk of her helmeted head.

"Where are you going?" Ezra asked with hidden wide eyes.

"A Mandalorian with a jetpack IS a weapon," she stated, and then dove out the opening and into the sky.

"I'm not a Mandalorian!" he called after her indignantly, even though there was no way she could hear him anymore, her figure already just a speck in the sky.

Kanan laughed behind him. "Just go. Do what you can. Call it an exercise in learning new cultures on the fly."

Ezra turned his head and glared at his Master as Kanan cracked up with chuckles at his own joke, inspiring a smile from the morose Lord Wren. "Very funny."

Kanan sent him an encouraging nudge through their bond, too busy snorting with laughter to respond out loud.

Ezra grunted and toed up to the edge and looked out at the clouds whipping past. "I don't want to be a Mandalorian," he grumbled to himself. _Mandos are nuts. Even my precious Sabine. B__ut I know better than to tell her that I thought that. Good thing I love her form of crazy._ Shaking his head at his own insanity, Ezra jumped out of the ship as well.

At least he was finally getting the hang of flying in a jetpack. Sort of.

Ezra flew towards the second TIE, since Bo-Katan was in pursuit of the first. As the first TIE swept past him, the turbulence knocked him off balance and he ended up floundering through the clouds like an ungainly newborn nerf.

The Kryze Countess flew past next, shaking her helmeted head at him as he wobbled through the sky.

Ezra groaned. _Way to make an impression, Bridger._

Then he compounded it by completely misjudging how fast the second TIE and he would meet.

Splat!

_That was not how I planned this, I swear._

Ezra hit his intended target right on the window, and felt rather like a bug. It brought back to mind the time he'd fallen off the top of the Ghost about four years ago and slid down the window while waving at Sabine (who was sketching in the nose gun chair) like an absolute idiot. _Ah. Those were the days. Not._

The pilot of the TIE was certainly surprised at his unexpected passenger. Ezra had the absurd urge to wave at him as well, but he got over it and scrambled up and over the top of the TIE, intending to pull the hatch open and pull the pilot out with the Force.

Of course, that plan went out the window too when the wind pushed him right off the TIE and he was left behind, once again flipping heels over ears in the sky. _Thank the Force Sabine isn't watching this, because I still feel like an absolute moron in this jetpack._

Ezra got himself facing the right away again and took off after the TIE at the same time that he saw the one Bo-Katan had targeted blow up. Going for plan B, Ezra activated the rocket launcher thing built into his jet pack and sent it at his target, using the Force just a little to make sure it actually hit the target. (It would be terrible if he hit Bo-Katan's ship instead.) _I would never live that down. Never. _

Smiling inside his helmet as the TIE blew, grateful he'd accomplished something useful for once, Ezra caught up to a waiting warrior Countess and they chased after her ship and flew back in. (Its failing power was actually a good thing, or they'd never have been able to catch up.)

Bo-Katan closed the cargo door and Ezra pulled his helmet off, blood thrumming through his veins and tingling from head to toe from the adrenaline rush. "Well, that was interesting."

She took her helmet off too and kind of smiled at him, her lips twitching more with humour than anything. "Not bad, for a rookie."

Ezra took that as high praise and grinned.

Sabine appeared in the cargo area, smiling widely at Ezra, and grabbed his hand as she led him into the main part of the ship through a few hallways that had pretty much the same layout as his own Gauntlet. "Look at you, taking out a TIE with a jetpack. I told you you'd get used to flying that," she teased as they walked, ignoring the red haired woman who trailed behind, chortling quietly at Sabine's words.

Ezra felt his heart pound a little as her fingers laced through his. He covered up his joy with a casual shrug. "Well, I'm not completely hopeless." _Only most of the time. And most especially when you're around to see me mess up._

Sabine squeezed his fingers and bumped his shoulder with hers gently. "No, Ez'ika. You're not." She watched colour flush his cheeks darker and his eyes fell on her and stayed there. He nearly walked into a bulkhead without even noticing. _Man, he's cute. Why did I deliberately ignore that for so long? _She drew them to a stop before he injured himself.

Ezra's breath caught at the endearment, and he gulped. _She called me Ez'ika! Oh. My. Force. That's big. That's really big! That's practically engaged big! Is the hallway spinning? Oh, right, breathing is recommended. _

_Breathe, Bridger!_

His open mouth finally gasped in a lungful of necessary oxygen and the shimmery silver walls settled back to stillness.

Her beautiful eyes were warm but serious now as she looked up at him, an emotion shining through that Ezra was afraid to name. He went to raise his free hand to touch her cheek reverently but the helmet tucked under his elbow made itself known, so he settled on just smiling softly, letting his eyes say what his heart was feeling. "Thank you, cyar'ika." (He'd learned the Mando'a endearments on the holonet long ago, within a week of meeting her, and he'd never forgotten them. How could he? When Sabine was there every day, reminding him how much he wished they were more than friends?)

Sabine's eyes widened when he returned her endearment with an appropriate one. _When did he learn that? Can he get any sweeter? I definitely made the right decision to pursue this. _She all but purred her approval as she moved closer to him, tipping her chin up further to keep her eyes on his beautiful sapphire blue ones as her chestplate touched the zipper of his jacket. _Give me more love names and I'll give you everything. _

Ezra was flabbergasted but ecstatic by her proximity. _Close. Close. Close. Breathe. Control. Don't get too excited or she's definitely going to notice that Little Ezra has a mind of his own with how close she is. Oh, stars. She's even more beautiful this close. There's about a hundred different shades of gold and brown in her eyes. Should I kiss her? She looks like she wants me to kiss her. I think I might be dreaming again. But it feels real. Her fingers are squeezing mine and I can feel every breath she takes via her chest. That's touching mine. Oh Force. _

Somewhere in the last hour, everything had changed. Sabine had come to some sort of decision in her mind and she was making it very clear with her actions and words that she was ready to move beyond friendship. Ezra couldn't have been much happier. (Sabine's family still being alive would have made it perfect.)

Now, if only he could stop panicking and act like having a girl pressed up against him wasn't the most exciting thing to happen to him, like, ever.

"Sooooo," a voice drawled, making Ezra nearly jump out of his skin and Sabine take a step back. _No, don't leave me! _every cell in his body whimpered.

Ezra shushed them, gawking at the Mandalorian artist, who was leaning against the open doorway into the common room, arms crossed over his chest, and amber eyes twinkling at them. _How did I forget that we weren't alone? _

"I take it the two of you are going to make this official sooner or later?" Sabine's father continued in his dry drawl.

As Ezra and Sabine flushed in embarrassment at being caught making eyes at each other, Bo-Katan snorted from the other direction and Kanan appeared behind Alrich's shoulder, grinning at Ezra.

Ezra seriously considered plopping his helmet back on his head so he could blush like a ripe tomato in private.


	3. My Heart is Yours

**My Heart is Yours: **

Sabine dropped Ezra's hand as she turned and faced her father with heat rapidly rising to her face. "Father!" _Shit, he's seen me practically throw myself at Ezra twice now. What must he think of me?_ " I was just… um…"

"Checking for signs of the Karatos Plague in Ezra's eyes?" Kanan provided helpfully, all but laughing his ass off at her if that grin was anything to go by.

Sabine nearly growled at him. "Not helping, Kanan."

The masked Jedi Knight simply shrugged unapologetically.

_Nerfherder._

"Relax, Sabine. I've already given your young Jedi my stamp of approval," Alrich reassured, pushing himself off the doorframe he was leaning on.

"Oh. You did? That's… good." _When did Ezra have time to win over Father? Then again, who doesn't Ezra win over? He's literally one of the most liked people in the galaxy. Even the scum of the universe likes him. (Cough, cough, Hondo, cough.) _

"The rest of the clan, on the other hand…"

"I know, Father. They're not exactly going to break out the good whiskey to celebrate my choice." _More like dump Ezra in the lake and then eject him into space and laugh as he fractures into a million pieces. Or maybe that's what they'll do to me after they find out about Mother and Tristan. _She sighed dejectedly as she walked up to her father and joined him as they moved into the common room. Eyeballing a couch that looked mighty comfy right now, wishing she could take a ten year nap, Sabine continued with, "Between that and the resurfacing of that weapon I wish I never invented, I'll be lucky if all of Mandalore doesn't eviscerate me." She huffed out another mournful sigh, aiming for the couch. A ten year nap might not be possible right now, but she was hoping for at least a ten minute sit. _Preferably with Ezra beside me. _

She never made it to the couch.

* * *

Ezra managed to cool off his face by focusing on Kanan's comment, brows rising in curiosity. _What's the Karatos Plague?_

_Kanan sure is enjoying this whole thing. I wonder how long he's been waiting to be able to tease Sabine and I about our love lives like we tease him about his? Did he anticipate that we'd be together, though? I sure didn't. I was so worried Sabine would fall for some buff Mando guy while we were apart. _

_Someone her clan would approve of._

Ezra sighed as he listened to Sabine and her father discuss the consequences of her getting together with him. _This doesn't sound like a good idea for her at all. Maybe I should back off now before things go any further. I don't want to hurt her standing with her clan any further. With her mother gone, doesn't that mean that she's the Countess now? Or does her father take over? _

_I have no idea. Sabine is always so reluctant to talk about her culture and her past. _

He followed Sabine as she moved into the common room with her father, but stopped beside Kanan, just inside the doorway.

"Hey, what's the Karatos Plague?" Ezra whispered to his Master, keeping half an eye on Sabine as she walked towards the far side of the room and a rather comfy looking grey leather couch.

Ezra backed up a step to let a frowning Lady Kryze pass him as Kanan replied with, "Originates from Concord Dawn." _Fenn's broken planet. Lovely place. _"Causes blindness in forty minutes and death in sixty."

"Wow."

"Yep."

"Fenn mentioned it…" Kanan's words sputtered out as his head whipped to the side, prompting Ezra to look fully towards Sabine.

What he saw had him tensing in an instant and dropping his helmet.

* * *

In the adrenaline rush of winning a fight, Bo had let herself forget for a moment that she was seriously peeved with one Sabine Wren. The girl's teasing of her adorably young and somewhat inept Jedi lover had been amusing, but when Bo heard her mention that weapon that had just obliterated three of her clan members, including her beloved nephew, Korkie, Bo's fuse was lit once again.

Setting her helmet down on a table, Bo rushed the traitorous girl who should still be known as dar'manda. _Ursa is… was… too forgiving._

The hairs on the back of Sabine's neck rose in warning just as she felt herself attacked from behind, her helmet flying out from under her arm. She had no time to react as Bo-Katan shoved her up against a wall face first and held the blade in her vambrace to her throat, breaking the skin. _Ow. Haar'chak, I should have seen this coming._

The Countess of Clan Kryze growled at her as she shoved her harder. "You're a Mandalorian! Why would you create such an abomination? That THING is the weapon of a coward."

There was another clatter on the floor, like a second helmet being dropped, followed by the sudden easing of the pressure. Sabine turned around to find Bo-Katan had been pulled back by Ezra. With the Force. His face was a study of concentration and anger as he held the woman in an invisible hold and she struggled in his grip. Bo-Katan stopped moving after a moment as she realized fighting was futile. _Go, Ezra. _

"No blades," Ezra growled. He didn't mind the girls having it out, as he sensed this was something that needed to be cleared up, but he wasn't going to watch Sabine bleed. Kanan had almost stopped him, as he sensed what Ezra was going to do, but then thought better of it, and didn't interfere. He realized Sabine was Ezra's to take care of, now more than ever. _Even if it's just as a friend, for her own good._

The thought of giving up the dream of having Sabine as his own was gut wrenching and made him feel sick, but Ezra would do it for her long-term happiness. She couldn't possibly be happy with him if her people hated her for it, no matter what she said.

Ezra walked around the furious redhead, holding her still with one hand held up, and came to stand beside Sabine, but kept his eyes pined to the Mandalorian leader. "If you promise to play nice, I'll let you go."

Bo-Katan's green eyes blazed murder, but she nodded stiffly. _This is why Mandos hate Force users. How can you fight something you can't see or feel or hear?_

Ezra glanced at Kanan, sending him a clear thought. "_Can I trust her?"_

Kanan frowned for a few seconds, studying her Force signature carefully before he nodded slightly.

Ezra let her go. _Hope I don't regret this._

Bo-Katan took a deep breath and visibly calmed herself down. She turned her attention back to Sabine. "Why?" Just one word, but the hurt and pain in her voice was readily apparent.

Sabine sighed and consciously squared her shoulders to appear stronger than she felt, grateful for Ezra's comforting presence beside her. She was careful to keep her eyes locked with Bo-Katan's; she needed her to see her remorse. "I was young. It was a challenge. And I was arrogant. But when I realized the Empire tested it, and actually planned to use it, I sabotaged the prototype and destroyed the plans. Blew up a good chunk of the Academy in the process. I thought that was the end of it, I swear to you." _Please believe me._

_I think I remember that. The Empire called it a terrorist bombing. _"Then how is it back?" Bo-Katan accused. "How come a dozen of your Clan and a few of mine are literally blowing in the wind? My nephew was there. Who's going to tell his wife and children that their father isn't coming home?"

_Oh, stars! Not Uncle Korkie! Everyone loved Korkie. He used to play with me when I was little. He was the perfect blend of protective older brother and fun uncle. In terms of politics, the only worse person to have died would be Bo-Katan herself. _

Ezra frowned in concern as Sabine went deathly pale and she shook her head hopelessly. _Kriff, she's breaking again. Need to help her. How… Touch helped her before. I can do that. _

Sabine's lower lip trembled as she stared at Bo-Katan with stinging eyes. "I'm sorry! I don't know how they brought it back. I destroyed it, I swear," she finished in a whisper, wishing for oblivion to free her from her mistakes. But then she felt Ezra lace his fingers with hers and Sabine found the courage to stand straighter again and face up to her past. _He's like a shot of positive energy to the heart. I could get used to that. It might even be addictive. _She took in a steadying breath. "But I promise I won't rest until I make it right again. This is my mess and I'm going to fix it."

"Not by yourself," Ezra said. "I'm with you to the end."

Sabine looked up at him and almost got lost in the sincerity and commitment she found in the blue depths of his eyes. She squeezed his fingers appreciatively. "Thank you, Ezra."

"I'm with you too," Kanan said firmly, quickly followed by Chopper's beep of support.

"As am I," added Fenn, who'd walked into the room at some point during the dramatics. "I promised I would follow you, back on Atollon, and I meant it."

"I will always support you, Daughter," Alrich added.

Sabine smiled a shaky smile at everyone in turn as they lent their support, and then she turned questioning eyes back to Bo-Katan, seeing the conflicted look on her face. _And you?_

Bo sighed. "I suppose I am as well. You do deserve the right to make things as right as you can, but this doesn't mean I won't forget what you've done." She turned and swiftly stalked off to the door that led to the cockpit, shoulders stiff.

The room as a whole kind of exhaled in relief that things were settled for the moment.

_Damn, I hope I don't let her down, _Sabine thought as she sagged back against the wall and a little to the left so she was leaning on Ezra too. He squeezed her fingers in sympathy and her she relaxed another fraction. _Thank you, Ezra. Kriff, I missed having you by my side these last few months. _In an unprecedented move for her, she relaxed even further and let her head tilt sideways and up, so she was resting on the hard muscle of his upper arm but she could still see his face, getting drawn into the fathomless blue of his eyes and letting the rest of the world melt away.

Ezra looked down at her, smiling softly, sensing her emotions settling back into contentment. Having her lean on him a little meant a lot to him since it was something she rarely let herself do. There'd be the odd occasion where they were on the couch, watching a holomovie or whatever, and she'd use his as shoulder as a backrest, but this was the first time her head had made contact with his arm. He was in awe of the vulnerability she was showing him (and everyone else in the room) right now. To show his appreciation he subtly stroked his thumb over hers, heart stuttering a little when he heard her breath catch. _Oh, stars. She's really responsive. _

Little Ezra thought that was a very interesting observation and twitched with the first stirrings of life.

_Control, moron! Her father is in the room! Not to mention Kanan and Fenn. _The dose of reality was an instant mood killer, thankfully. But even having the other three men talking quietly about who-knew-what on the other side of the room wasn't enough to stop Ezra from drinking in Sabine's beautiful features as she gazed up at him with big, trusting eyes. _Force, I missed you. Please let me be in your life more. Even if it's just as a friend. Surely your clan wouldn't object too much if I came to visit you every couple of weeks? _

As usual, the words were trapped in his throat. He was so afraid of hearing a negative response that it seemed better to just let things be as they were for the moment.

The sensation of having her fingers laced with his while he stroked his thumb gently over hers was doing funny things to Sabine's heartbeat and sending tingly little flutters of awareness through her... and they were both wearing gloves. She couldn't imagine how much better it would be without them, because even though hers were fingerless, she still had his layer of leather between them. And his eyes; they were melting her stuttering heart with how they looked at her. _He loves me. He really loves me. And... I think I love him back. Maybe I always have. By the Mando, I love those gorgeous blue eyes. That look can't be anything but love. It's so obvious. This is far beyond the crush he used to have on me years ago. How long has he felt like that? How long has he been hiding it from me because I was too stubborn to see how perfect we are together? _

However long it was, Sabine was grateful for it. She was quite determined to see that look in his eyes for the rest of her life, for she felt like she was finally right where she belonged. The love in Ezra's eyes was helping her forget, just for the moment, how WRONG the rest of her life was right now. Ezra, on the other hand, was RIGHT. Being with him felt right. Leaning on him felt right. Holding his hand felt right. She was actually thinking about moving even closer to him (possibly by climbing up into his arms and wrapping her limbs around him) and trying the whole kiss thing again, when her father spoke and tore her out of the trancelike state she'd found herself in for the last ten minutes.

"Sabine, I'm getting you a bacta bandage before you bleed out in increments."

She startled away from Ezra a bit, raising her free hand to touch the wound on her neck that she'd completely forgotten about. Her fingers came back shiny red with liquid life. "Oh. Yes. Thank you, Father." Now that she was focusing on it, her neck throbbed a bit from the shallow slice, like a really bad paper cut, and the neck and shoulder of her bodysuit was sticking to her unpleasantly. _I should probably hit the refresher and clean that up before we land. _She wiped her fingers off on her leg with a faint grimace. 

Ezra frowned as he focused his gaze on the still bleeding cut on Sabine's neck just above the collar of her bodysuit, just beside her jugular. _That was too close. _"She hurt you," he said softly, regretting that he hadn't acted sooner and stopped Bo-Katan before she'd even touched Sabine. He'd known that the woman was harbouring resentment towards Sabine and had even told himself to keep an eye on her emotions. Just because she was amused one moment did not mean she would remain so the next. Unfortunately, Ezra had been mostly focused on imagining what kind of plague could blind a person. (It probably involved copious amounts of pus leaking from his brain.) Distraction wasn't a great excuse, but it was all he had. His only consolation was that Kanan hadn't picked up on Bo-Katan's intentions in time either.

"It's nothing, Ezra. A little bacta bandage will heal it by tomorrow."

Ezra touched her neck gently, quirking his mouth up in a crooked smile. "I wish I could fix it for you now, but Force Healing isn't in my bag of tricks."

Sabine laughed rather pathetically at his equally sad attempt at lightening the mood. "It's okay, Ezra. We have much bigger things to worry about than a tiny cut."

"Like not getting fried to a crisp in our armour," Fenn said, only half joking as Alrich reappeared in the room, carrying a damp cloth and an appropriately sized self-adhesive bandage. (The main refresher / med bay was the next door down the hallway if this ship was laid out the same as Ezra's.)

Ezra raised a brow at that. "Okay, so this weapon only targets Mandalorian armour, right? So why not make your armour out of something different?"

Sabine snorted and dropped his hand, smacking his arm for saying something so stupid. "Ezra, the armour I wear is five hundred years old. I reforged it to my liking, but, the battles, the history, the blood, all lives within it. And the same goes for every Mandalorian."

"Beskar armour is part of our identity," Alrich added in a patient teaching type voice. "It makes us Mandalorians who we are. Even though I rarely wear it, I do have my own set. I couldn't call myself a Mandalorian if I didn't. Even my cousin, the pacifist to the extreme Duchess Satine, had a set of Kryze coloured armour." He was busy cleaning off Sabine's neck as he said it, matter-of-factly unzipping her bodysuit as needed to reach the blood that had trickled down. It felt really nice to be taking care of his little girl again, even if she was quite grown up now. It was even nicer that she was letting him. 

"And now our set-in-our-way heritage is going to make us dead," Fenn scoffed.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Sabine said determinedly. "I AM going to fix this."

* * *

Bo sagged against the wall as soon as she left the room, just breathing as she fought back the urge to bawl like a baby from too many emotions. Too much had happened in one day already and most of it had not been planned for. And despite the mayhem she'd already committed, she still felt the urge to kill something; preferably over and over again until it was nothing more than a bloody heap of bones. And since she couldn't target Sabine anymore, the next person on her list (who'd been there for months, in fact) was one Tiber Saxon; Imperial ass kissing mongrel of a pervert Tiber Saxon. 

She wasn't usually this bloodthirsty by nature, but Bo's instincts had been triggered and she was pretty sure she wasn't going to rest easily until both that thrice cursed weapon and Saxon were wiped from the galaxy. 

Once she had herself under control again, she continued down the hallway to the cockpit and all but fell into the empty co-pilot chair. She stared blankly out at the passing scenery of dry red dirt followed by more dry red dirt and a rock formation or two while Kar flew in silence beside her.

He glanced over at her after a minute. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She rolled her heavy head to the side and looked at her best friend blearily. "No. But I should." 

He smiled wanly. "You can tell me when you're ready. There's probably not enough time anyway. Even with only half power, we'll be landing in a minute."

Even just knowing he was always there to support her was enough to put a little durasteel back in Bo's spine. She sat up taller and then pushed all the way up to her feet, taking a deep breath to center herself once more. She touched Kar's shoulder before she left. "Thanks, Kar. I needed that minute of peace."

He caught her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, flying one handed and with only half an eye on where he was going. "I could tell."

She ruffled his short brown hair fondly and moved to leave when a thought stopped her. "At least we rescued your brother. That's something."

Kar's amber eyes lit up as he all but turned around to look at her. "How is he?"

Bo smiled softly. "He looks good, aside from quietly grieving over the loss of Ursa and Tristan. The Saxons treated him well enough, I think."

Kar sighed and turned back around, focusing on the camp that was now in sight. "Poor Alrich. He didn't deserve any of this."

"No, he didn't," Bo muttered as she left the cockpit. _And it's all his daughter's fault. _

She walked back into the common room to hear the only words that could have made her opinion of Sabine improve. 

"I AM going to fix this."

"I'm holding you to that," Bo-Katan said with incontrovertible steel in her voice and everyone felt the ship come in for a landing. She stopped in front of Ezra and Sabine as Alrich finished applying the bandage, squeezing her shoulder in affection as he finished, zipped her suit back up, then moved a step away, tossing the bloodstained cloth onto a table to be dealt with later.

Bo only quirked a brow at the move, unconcerned and somewhat amused since her cousin was usually very fastidious. She wasn't even remotely surprised that he'd already taken care of Sabine's miniscule cut; the man was caring to the extreme for his daughter. He always had been. _My father would have ignored it even if I was bleeding out in front of him, believing a Mando had to be tough in any situation. Fortunately for Sabine, she had Ursa for a mother, or Alrich would have coddled her to death. How Ursa ever came to love someone who was such a polar opposite to her is beyond me. _Pretending her mind hadn't been elsewhere, Bo pinned the girl in a commanding glare, "We're landing at my camp, and they've been informed of what has transpired. There are several clans here, since we were actually planning an attack on the Imperial Saxons before I was informed by Ursa of the plan to free her husband. This is your chance to prove yourself, Sabine Wren. DON'T disappointment me."

Sabine nodded, her eyes not leaving Bo-Katan's until the older female flicked her chin towards the cargo bay, indicating Sabine should go first.

Sabine squared her shoulders, picked up her helmet, which she'd dropped when Bo-Katan had body slammed her, and walked proudly out the door.

As the ramp lowered, she found herself flanked by Ezra, Kanan, Fenn, and Chopper. Ezra and Kanan both touched an arm on either side of her at the same time in the same show of support, and Sabine couldn't help but smile slightly at how alike they were now. _I doubt they even realize it._

The first thing Sabine saw as the ramp opened was the number of people waiting for her. The second was the vast expanse of the camp nudged up against a cliff wall that told of a bigger operation than the Empire would ever care to allow if they knew about it. They clearly didn't. 

_I can do this. _Taking a deep breath, she walked down the steep ramp with her heart-family at her side, Bo-Katan and her father following behind.

As she was spotted by the crowd of about thirty that had come to greet the ship, blasters were drawn and immediately pointed at her.

"Sabine Wren."

"I know you built that weapon."

"You betrayed us all."

"You're a traitor to Mandalore."

She didn't know who any of these helmeted people were, but their accusations cut her to the core. Ezra and Kanan drew their lightsabres on either side of her and got into a protective stance, which made the hurt just a little less. She glanced further over and saw Fenn had his blasters drawn as well, ready to fight for her. Even Chopper had his electric prod out and ready for action. _Stars._

_The rest of the galaxy might despise me, but this is my family and they DON'T. If Hera was here, you can bet your ass she'd already have put these people in their place for badmouthing me. _

Sabine squared her shoulders and raised her chin, staring the Mandalorian warriors down defiantly. _If my family can stand up for me, then I can fragging well stand up for myself too._

And then her father's voice came from above them from his position halfway up the ramp, and her breath caught on the rush of love she felt for him.

"Lower your weapons," Alrich called firmly. "Sabine did everything she could to stop this from happening. You must believe us. Any attack on my daughter is an attack on Clan Wren and an attack on the new Countess."

_New Countess? Oh, right. I'm the new Countess. Osik bat bevik._

That seemed to shock the crowd, as their blasters lowered ever so slightly and they looked at each other in confusion. Attacking a Countess was NOT a good idea. And this one was protected by two Jedi. Which made it even more confusing, since Jedi were supposed to be the enemy.

The opposing sides stared at each other for a whole minute, no one making a move to DO anything, but no one actually backing down either.

_"You think we can take them if we have to?" _Ezra thought to Kanan as he stared down the barrels of about sixty blasters. (Every Mando had two, of course.) He doubted they were set to stun.

_"Uhhhhhh. Let's hope we don't have to."_

_"Way to think positive, Kanan."_

_"I thought I was." _The thought came back completely deadpan.

Ezra snorted under his breath. _"They open up, I'm Force pushing the lot and grabbing Sabine and hightailing it back into the ship."_

_"I'll cover you."_

_"You always do. Have I told you lately that you're the best Master ever?"_

Kanan mentally snorted back.

Sabine couldn't take the tension anymore. She threw her helmet on the ground and all but screamed, "No!"

Ezra looked at her in shock, his fingers tightening restlessly on the hilt of his lightsabre. "Sabine! What are you doing?" _Don't piss off up the natives! Can't you see we're seriously outnumbered here? These aren't exactly stupid stormtroopers holding us at blaster point!_

"I'm prepared to take responsibility for my actions," Sabine explained quietly to him. _I have to if I'm ever to live with myself._ Ezra blinked and then nodded slightly in acceptance, but he didn't turn off his lightsabre. She didn't blame him.

Sabine addressed the crowd, raising her voice so all could hear her, especially as it seemed that even more had joined the back of the gathering. (Hard to tell for sure, though, since she was so short.) "It's true. I designed the weapon as a loyal student at the Imperial Academy. The Empire is using my prototype. But it's only functioning at a fraction of its capacity. At full power, it will destroy armies. So, you've got a choice to make. We can fight each other, or we can destroy this weapon once and for all!"

Bo had been watching the whole thing, not taking sides. She came to a decision as she'd seen what she'd needed to from the girl. She stepped forward and downward and addressed the crowd as well, after giving a quick nod of approval to Sabine. "I understand your anger. In many ways, I feel the same. But Sabine is right. Now is not the time for us to be divisive. She knows the most about this weapon and how to destroy it. We need her."

The crowd fell into quiet mutters, their blasters lowering a bit further, but most certainly not put away yet.

Bo stared down her own clan members, telling them silently to put their blasters away or be in very big trouble.

Fortunately for them, they caved to her willpower. As they holstered their blasters, bowing their heads to her slightly, the members from the other clans followed their lead, the Jedi put their weapons away, and most of the tension evaporated from the air. With a murmur as people talked amongst themselves, the crowd dispersed, going back to their tasks for the evening or to their tents.

Bo turned to Sabine and gave her a look that said the rest was up to her now. "It's time for you to prove your loyalty. Not just to your family, but to all of Mandalore. Come with me and we will make plans." Her eyes swept over Sabine's protectors and she raised an imperious brow until the Jedi nodded in obeisance. Even the blind one. _How did he know I was even looking at him? From what I've seen, his talent with the Force must be at least as good as Kenobi's. Impressive. The boy, on the other hand, seems rather mediocre. What does Sabine see in him? _ _Now this one, _she thought as her eyes came to rest on Fenn Rau, _this one is also an impressive specimen with more than adequate fighting skills. No Force powers are needed to make him a worthy warrior. _Fenn did not dip his head down under her stare, but met her eyes steadily in a look of curious assessment. That one was too proud to bow down to her. They had been on opposite sides of a triangular war, once, but now found themselves on the same side. Bo found him to be quite intriguing and thought he would make a good ally. She didn't mind him not prostrating himself at her feet like so many other men did in an attempt to win her favour. His studied aloofness and confident stance was by far more appealing. She'd have to keep an eye on that one. 

Bo-Katan turned on her heel and stalked to the large command tent in the center of the camp, followed by Fenn, who thought she just might be the fiercest, hottest female he'd ever encountered. Between her commanding leadership skills, her kickass fighting style, and her elegant beauty, Fenn was thinking he might be in love and how come it had taken so long for him to meet her? _Seriously, we've been fighting the same wars for years, but I've never managed to meet her in person? There is something seriously kriffed up with that. _

Ezra and Sabine looked at each other. _That was tense. But we survived to fight another day, _the look said. A look they'd given each other many times over the years.

She raised a shapely purple dyed eyebrow at him. _Did you really have to question me in front of everyone?_

Ezra shrugged with a bashful look, rubbing the back of his neck for a moment before he remembered that that was an unattractive show of insecurity. _Sorry. My mouth thinks before my brain sometimes. I know you're a Countess now. _He summoned over Sabine's helmet for her as a pathetic peace offering.

She shook her head at him as she accepted the offering of her own helmet from the air. _Such a sweet, talented, dork. _Then she leaned over and kissed his cheek gently, letting her lips linger on a spot just below his sexy double scar. _Think about that when you go to sleep tonight, Ez'ika. I promise we'll try some real kissing soon._

Ezra blushed scarlet in the scorching heat of the late afternoon sun. _Oh Force, that was definitely not just a friendly kiss! I think I might swoon. Can a manly Jedi get away with swooning?_

Sabine gave him a sexy, suggestive smile, biting her bottom lip in attractive white teeth for just an instant, her amber eyes flashing promises at him, before turning and walking away in the same direction Bo-Katan had gone. Her distant cousin was not one to be kept waiting.

Ezra was left behind, staring at her confidently striding, exceedingly hot, figure with his heart in his eyes as he held his hand to his tingling cheek in awe. He startled when Kanan clapped him on the back. "I think it's safe to say that you two are dating now," he said, a hint of laughter in his voice.

"But… What if our dating is not the best thing for Sabine? Mandos don't like Jedi."

Kanan shrugged. "I'd say that she doesn't seem to be too worried about it so you shouldn't be either. That girl has clearly chosen you. Her signature practically clung to yours before she walked off."

Ezra gaped at Kanan, doing a good impersonation of a landlocked fish before he snapped his jaw closed. _Wow! Oh kriff. Okay. Okay. We can deal with any haters together, I guess. I doubt I'd have the fortitude to turn her down now anyway. Not after that kiss and even hotter look._

And then he was clapped on the back again by Alrich. "Kanan's right. Sabine has definitely staked a claim on you. Us Jedi hating Mandos will learn to deal with her choice." Alrich winked cheekily before he followed after Sabine, calling over his shoulder, "Congratulations, son. Don't make me wait too long for the grandkids."

Kanan snorted with laughter as he followed after Alrich, catching up to the slightly shorter man in only two long legged steps.

Ezra's jaw practically dropped to the ground again as he stared after the two men who were now laughing like lothloons. _They've lost it. "I am NOT having kids anytime soon!" _he all but yelled into Kanan's mind in protest, because he had to protest to someone.

_"But Alrich wants them," _Kanan teased back.

_"Don't care."_

_"You should."_ Kanan was still laughing both out loud and in Ezra's mind.

_"Nerfherder." _Then Ezra closed down the bond with a snap like a mental 'frag you'.

Chopper bumped into the back of his legs, beeped something like, "Get a move on, meatbag," and rolled after the others.

Ezra startled out of his frozen position and ran after the older men. He caught up to Alrich and jogged backwards in front of him. "You were kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding?"

Alrich just grinned and swept into a huge guarded tent like he belonged there.

Ezra turned to Kanan, eyes pleading. "He was kidding, right?"

Kanan shrugged, a smile still playing on the corners of his mouth. "Probably not. Their clan is a little depleted at the moment. They have to grow their numbers somehow. And I believe it is quite common for their people to marry young and produce children early since their life expectancy tends to be on the short side."

"Kanan!" Ezra said in shocked despair that his Master was still playing along with what Ezra sincerely hoped was cruel joke.

Kanan just squeezed his shoulder and ducked into the tent.

Ezra looked from one guard to the other, standing on either side of the doorway and armoured in Bo-Katan's clan colours of silver and royal blue. "Was he kidding?"

They shrugged as if in practiced synchronicity and then one held the door open for him.

_Well, kriff that. Alrich can't make me have kids while I'm still a teenager. Sabine, on the other hand…_

Ezra shook his head at himself, quickly dispelling the thought before it took root. His eyes were still wide when he entered the massive tent.

* * *

_Mando'a translations:_

_Osik bat bevik - Shit on a stick._


	4. Doubt, Dinner, and Dessert

**Doubt, Dinner, and Dessert:**

Ezra walked over to where everyone else was gathered around Chopper, who was projecting the schematics of a Star Destroyer. He was basically in a daze over the concept of having kids sooner than later, so he didn't contribute to the conversations, but he did manage to more or less listen.

Alrich was speaking as Ezra stopped beside Kanan. "Saxon has worked hard to keep the weapon secret, so he likely has it aboard his Imperial Star Destroyer outside of Sundari. Needless to say, it will be very well guarded."

Sabine was next. "Once we get inside that ship, we'll need two teams. One to find the weapon and one to wipe out every shred of data on the Imperial computer systems." Ezra suppressed the urge to smile like a dork from listening to her voice. It was sweet and commanding at the same time. How she did that, he didn't know, but he sure was a sucker for it.

"This weapon. Is there any way it could be turned against the Empire?" Fenn asked Sabine.

Sabine blinked twice at the suggestion, because it was actually something she'd thought of many times in the dead of night. And unbeknownst to her instructors at the Academy, she had done preliminary research on calibrating her weapon to focus on other types of armour. The problem with changing the parameters of the Duchess meant that it would then be her who was the one with questionable methods of destroying her enemies. And if the Duchess was left intact, it could always be changed back. That could never be allowed to happen.

She gave her curious audience the short version of her thoughts. "I've studied stormtrooper armour, and, while the thought has crossed my mind, that isn't our mission," she replied. _But I wouldn't mind if Saxon felt the power of the Duchess. _

_No. Bad Sabine. Don't talk yourself out of this. _

_But…_

_I said no!_

_Fine._ Vengeful Sabine pouted and retreated to the back of her mind. Mostly.

Moralistic Sabine had the final say with her rapt audience. "No. No, we have to destroy it."

Ezra and Kanan caught the hint of something in her voice that said conflict was brewing at the back of her mind. Ezra wouldn't be surprised if Sabine did something completely unexpected during the mission. She was good at that; coming up with new ways to destroy things on the fly. _I bet if the opportunity presents itself, she WILL tinker with her weapon. She won't be able to resist._

She could practically feel Fenn's disappointment in her answer. _Too bad, Fenn. I'm not mass murdering stormtroopers to win this war. They're not the one's running the show. It's the leaders we need to eliminate. Also known as Tarkin, Thrawn, and that skeevy Palpatine. _

_What happened when I invented the Duchess, anyway? How did a simple science project turn into something so terrible?_

"If I can get to the weapon, I can make sure it's destroyed," Sabine finished with, radiating determination.

"I'll get you there," Bo-Katan said, just as determinedly.

"Ezra and I will take Chopper to the data core," Kanan volunteered for them. Ezra hid a frown. He would rather be with Sabine's team, but he didn't oppose his Master.

"All right. Let's go over our infiltration plan." Sabine became more animated and hopeful as she talked about her plan and the schematics of the Star Destroyer and the most likely place the weapon would be located.

Ezra's attention divided as Fenn and Bo-Katan stepped away from the group and started talking quietly to each other.

Unobtrusively studying the pair for a moment, Ezra opened his bond to Kanan up again. _"Hey, Kanan."_

_"What?"_

_"Look at Fenn and Lady Kryze. Is it just me or is his signature softer and yet more lively than I've ever seen it?"_

Kanan didn't have to turn his head to do as requested. His incredibly detailed Force Sight went around him three hundred and sixty degrees. Ezra had been practicing, but his Sight still only showed him what he was more or less pointing towards. And he was sure he didn't get even a fraction of the details Kanan did. He couldn't read with it like Kanan did, that was for sure.

After a few seconds, Kanan replied. _"Nope. Not just you. Fenn definitely fancies her. A lot."_

Ezra hid a smirk by rubbing his nose. _"And what about Kryze? Does she like him back?"_

_"She's not sure yet. Her emotions are curious but cautious."_

_"That's what I thought too. I hope for his sake that she gives him a chance. He deserves to be just as pathetically lovesick as the rest of us."_

Kanan's mouth quirked up, mentally chuckling as he nudged Ezra with his elbow. _"You're bad."_

Ezra elbowed him back. _"I know." _

Ezra found it quite amusing that Fenn seemed to have fallen so quickly for the woman. He could see the appeal... if you like beautiful badass female warrior types. _Which I do. And I fell just as fast for mine, didn't I? _

Ezra's attention returned wholly to his own badass female warrior and he couldn't help the small smile as he watched her animated face as she brainstormed over her plan of attack with her father and the assistance of Chopper's holo display. Alrich, despite being an artist, seemed to know an awful lot about the layout of Star Destroyers and the postings of the troops on the Destroyers and in the city. _I wonder if he's more like an undercover spy? Sabine certainly isn't surprised by his input._

She was so good at this, and really was a born leader. Ezra was more than happy to stand at her side and let her make the big decisions, protecting her back as necessary. He could lead when he had to, but he enjoyed watching Sabine take control of things more. When it came to her, Ezra was just happy to spend whatever time he could with her.

* * *

As Sabine started her planning with her Jedi, Bo pulled the Protector away from the group. She was very curious about him. And had many questions. Like, why was he was working with Rebel affiliated Jedi? Why was he working with the Wrens? What had really happened to the Protectors of Concord Dawn? 

But those were all questions that could wait. 

First, she needed to know more about what was driving her distant cousin. 

Fenn, for his part, had no problem whatsoever with being dragged anywhere Countess Kryze wished to take him. He didn't even care why he was being pulled away from a rather important meeting. The woman was bloody gorgeous and made his heart race just by looking at her. No female had ever done that to him before. He'd found many attractive, yes, but not to this extent. Not like his very existence might hinge on whether or not they smiled at him. 

He had yet to see Bo-Katan smile, but he just knew it would be glorious. His new mission in life was to please her enough so her face would fill with joy and not this stern frown of displeasure or concentration or whatever was going on in her head.

By some miracle, he remembered rather quickly that he should inquire as to why they were moving away from the group. "Is there something I can help you with, Countess?"

Bo nodded stiffly. "Yes. I need you to tell me truthfully that I can trust that girl."

He was surprised by the question, but nodded quickly. "Of course you can. Is she not your distant kin? I know she's House Kryze and she claims it proudly."

Now it was her turn to be surprised. "She does?"

"Of course. She may have made mistakes when she was young, but she has always been a loyal Mandalorian."

Bo continued frowning in the direction of the girl. "She doesn't wear her Clan colours."

Fenn had to give her that one. "True. But that's because her mother cast her out. She made her own identity during that time and I don't think she's willing to give it up and become just one of a crowd again. You will notice the wren symbol on her shoulder, however. She also wears a symbol for the Rebellion, which she designed by the way, and a symbol of her other family, the Ghost crew. The girl is extremely loyal and trustworthy to those she cares for."

Bo found her opinion of her little cousin softening with every one of Fenn Rau's words. "At first I wanted to destroy her for the harm her mistakes have caused," she admitted, not able to look at the man she was talking to, afraid he would judge her harshly for her initial opinion.

_You're not the only one, _Fenn thought with a wry quirk of his mouth, openly studying her since she wasn't looking at him. 

Bo continued. "But I find myself reluctantly admiring her courage. She has come back to face her past, and her bold initiative has impressed me. From what I have seen so far, she is also a courageous and brilliant leader. At least, with Ursa's passing, her clan may be left in capable hands."

"I believe it has been," Fenn assured. "Sabine has worked her shebs off the last few months proving to her clan that she deserves to be there. I don't have to tell you this, since I'm sure you're aware, but under the guise of her clan operations, she's done more to inspire open rebellion against the Imperial occupation of Mandalore than anyone else has in the last fifteen years."

"I have noticed," Bo said wryly, glancing at Rau and finding him looking at her intently, almost admiringly. Surprisingly, it didn't make her feel uncomfortable like most attention from males did. "But Ursa let me think all of their hits were her idea. Was that deliberate?"

Fenn nodded. "Most likely. Sabine would have been trying to restore her mother's loss of honour that she had caused."

"Hmmmm. As she should. Another admirable quality."

"The girl has many," Fenn said matter-of-factly. "She reminds me of the best of who we were, and could inspire us to become more than we have been of late. I will not allow her efforts to be wasted."

Bo turned and looked at Rau intently, seeing the determination in his surprisingly beautiful glacier blue eyes. After a moment, she nodded once. "Than I shall not as well."

Fenn smiled rather brilliantly at her in approval and Bo found herself returning the gesture, if not quite so enthusiastically. But still, it was the first genuine smile that had crossed her face in a while and she was grateful to him for it. 

_Stars, I was right. Her smile IS glorious. Thank you, Manda, thank you. _

Bo blinked at the look in his eyes. It wasn't lust, not exactly, but he looked as though he'd happily devour her from head to toe. For some reason her body thought that might not be a bad idea and started to tingle with awareness. _Seriously not the time or the place, _she told her female parts. _We have work to do first._

_After? _they begged back, suddenly feeling incredibly neglected. 

Bo all but rolled her eyes at herself for her ridiculous mental conversation, but somehow found herself thinking, _Perhaps. If you're lucky, and Mr. Hot Stuff over there doesn't turn into a dud. _

_Yaaaayyyyy!_

To distract herself from her apparently teenage level urges, Bo asked, "You don't happen to know how she came to be in possession of the Darksabre, do you? I'm sure I saw her using it earlier and I nearly died of shock."

Fenn laughed, the spell that had temporarily overcome him as he gazed at her stunning emerald eyes broken. "I do, in fact. I'll tell you later when we have more time."

"I'm holding you to that," she said as she moved to rejoin Sabine's group, stopping beside her cousin and giving him a nudge of greeting with her shoulder. 

Alrich smiled at her warmly, not interrupting Sabine's mostly-talking-to-herself chatter. They hadn't seen each other in well over a year, but the affection would always be there. 

Bo interrupted the girl. "Your plan sounds solid, Sabine. We'll inform everyone when they gather for dinner. Your group is welcome to join us, if you like."

Sabine nodded, smiling gratefully. "Yes, thank you. We would love to. I, for one, am famished. And if I am, that means that Ezra's twice as hungry." She shot the boy in question a teasing glance. 

Ezra grimaced, playing along, putting a hand on his flat stomach. "I wasn't going to say anything, but since you mentioned it, I think my stomach just ate my spleen." 

Bo snorted in amusement, along with the rest of the group. _The boy is funny, and cute, in a puppyish way. I can see the appeal, I suppose. _"Come then. With any luck someone's already organized dinner. We have about six hours to eat and rest before our next mission."

* * *

Dinner was interesting.

Ezra sat between Kanan and Sabine while she picked at her food, frowning at it absently. His appetite was fine, but he hadn't lost a chunk of his family only hours before. He spent most of his time observing the Mandos around him as they chattered away in Mando'a. Every once in a while, he'd catch a word that he thought he recognized, the most common of which was 'Jetii', the Mando'a version of Jedi, or some of the swear words that Sabine was fond of. If their emotions and barely civilized looks were anything to go by, the Mandos were not in love with the idea of having Jedi in their camp.

And they were even more displeased by the fact that Ezra was attached to one of their females, completely disregarding the fact that Sabine wasn't exactly their favourite person either.

Ezra discovered this fun little snippet by accident when he refilled her cup for her and she'd given him a half smile in thanks, her eyes far away and sad. Hoping to bring her back to the here and now, and restore a proper smile to her face, he'd brushed her hair behind her ear and kissed her cheek the same way that she had his; soft and lingering, before whispering that she should try and eat something to go with her mead or she'd end up woozy.

Sabine had blinked at him, smiled for real, and actually put a bite of food in her mouth.

The rest of the hundred or so warriors seated at tables around them had basically stopped breathing and the tent had gone silent for a good ten seconds. The temperature in the big tent had dropped like a sudden attack of winter. And their emotions had gone from displeased to outright repugnance.

For the sake of entertainment, Ezra had found half a dozen more excuses to touch Sabine while encouraging her to actually eat her dinner. The tent sizzled with tension every time.

It was hilarious, if somewhat alarming for Ezra's life expectancy.

Sabine was somehow oblivious, but she seemed to be working through things in her mind, so Ezra let it slide.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Kanan whispered to him after Ezra put his free arm across her shoulders and snuggled her a little closer into his side. Their displeased audience all but gasped in outrage.

Ezra grinned at him when Sabine hummed in a happy but still distracted way and then forked in another bite of salad. "Worth it," he whispered back smugly.

Kanan shook his head at him, amused resignation trickling down their bond.

Fenn, who was sitting across the table from them, smirked into his cup of mead. "Can you blame him, Kanan?"

Kanan sighed in an exaggeratedly forlorn fashion. "I suppose not. Girl's been making him wait for four years. I guess he's earned the right to a few death defying displays of affection."

Ezra grinned wider when Sabine actually focused on the people around them long enough to lean around Ezra and smirk at Kanan. "Yes, he has." She then kissed Ezra on the jaw before poking at her salad and mentally going elsewhere again.

Alrich raised a brow. "Four years, huh?"

Ezra shrugged. "More or less. She was worth the wait, though."

Kanan barked out a laugh. "Even when she was telling you to go take a flying leap off the top of the Ghost again because you wouldn't leave her alone?"

Ezra flushed lightly. "I was fourteen," he said defensively. "I had no self control back then. She hasn't told me that in years."

Fenn paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. "Wait, why does it sound like you actually did take a leap off the Ghost at some point?"

Both Ezra and Kanan winced. "Ummmm. That's a long story," Kanan mumbled.

Alrich stopped eating too, sensing a really good story. "You must tell it. We have time."

"Uhhh. Well," Ezra started. "I was just learning how to be a Jedi…"

"And I was just learning how to teach him to be a Jedi…"

"And I wasn't very good yet…"

"And I overfaced him…"

Sabine huffed in exasperation, her attention caught again in the present reality. "You two are terrible story tellers." She looked across at Fenn and her father. "Kanan was trying to teach Ezra how to use a lightsabre by having Chopper throw empty water bottles at him. Chopper went a little nuts and threw too many all at once. Ezra tripped on one and fell backwards off the Ghost. We happened to be hovering about a kilometre above the ground at the time."

"Shabla hell!" Fenn exclaimed.

"How did you survive?!" Alrich asked with wide eyes.

"Kanan caught me with the Force and pulled me back up," Ezra said proudly. "It was amazing."

The other two men gawked at the bearded Jedi in admiration.

Kanan flushed under his mask. "It was nothing."

Sabine snorted. "Kanan's had to rescue Ezra from falling to his death more than once. I think today was the first time that Ezra more or less saved himself."

"Hey!" he protested out of principle, even if it was true. "I've gotten better at not getting myself into precarious situations in the first place."

"That's true," she admitted, patting his arm consolingly.

Ezra decided to call that about as good as it got in terms of praise from her and dedicated himself to finishing his dinner.

Now up to the dessert course, Ezra took his and Kanan's empty plates and Sabine's half full one away and returned with three small plates filled with a deliciously gooey looking chocolate cake. Where they got chocolate cake from, he had no idea, considering they were in the middle of a rather large, covert operation against the Empire. But then again, Bo-Katan was the Countess of one of the wealthiest and most influential clans on the planet. If anyone could afford to buy cake for a hundred people, it would be her.

Somehow, while Ezra was gone, Sabine had acquired a datapad and was typing at lightning speed on the touchscreen with a focused dedication that indicated all of her previous thinking had produced something interesting. "What ARE you working on?" Ezra asked curiously as he set a plate in front of her.

"Just… things," she said evasively.

"Evil weapon things?"

"Maybe." She frowned at him then focused on her datapad again.

Ezra dropped it, sensing she wasn't going to talk about it.

Deciding to focus on something more pleasant, Ezra took a forkful of cake and placed it into his mouth, nearly moaning in taste bud delight. "Karabast, this is good. We never get cake like this at Chopper Base."

Kanan forked in a bite and quickly nodded in agreement. "Heaven."

Fenn was inhaling his cake like he'd never get another piece. Probably so he could go back for seconds before it was all gone.

Sabine was still typing away, cake untouched.

Knowing how much Sabine loved chocolate, Ezra frowned at her. He picked up her fork and stabbed some cake for her and then held it to her mouth. "Open. This is really good and I'm going to eat it for you if you don't."

The warning got through to her occupied brain enough for her to her open her mouth for his offering.

Then her eyes closed and she actually did moan in taste bud bliss. "Stars, that's good," she said after swallowing. She snatched her fork from him and immediately put all of her concentration into savouring her cake, pushing the datapad away and pulling the plate closer, curling over it possessively. "Mine," she all but snarled at Ezra.

Alrich chortled into his napkin as he wiped away cake crumbs. "Never get between a girl and her chocolate cake."

Ezra grinned to himself, forking up another bite for himself. _Mission accomplished. _

* * *

Somehow, Ezra found himself braving the wild herd of Mandos for a second piece of cake for his ladylove. 

She'd finished her cake in record time for someone who was clearly savouring every bite, and then she'd looked at the lineup to the buffet table assessingly. When she sighed and let her shoulders drop in clear defeat, Ezra couldn't stand it. 

So he shoved the last quarter of his cake into his mouth all at once, just to make sure he actually got to eat it lest someone else decided it was fair game while he was gone, and then he was leaping up from the table. 

"Where are you going?" Sabine asked as she dragged her datapad back in front of her. 

Ezra swallowed down the massive bite with effort before answering. "To get you more cake, my beautiful cyar'ika." And then he was gone, sliding around tables and people with swift ease. 

Sabine gawked for a moment before a very soft smile that might be interpreted as loving appreciation crossed her face and she turned around fully to watch her Jedi perform what should be an impossible feat. 

Bo, overhearing, actually felt her heart melt a little at the boy's devotion. _Jedi or not, that one's a keeper. And would you look at that; not entirely the bumbling buffoon I thought. _

Their whole table watched in avid curiosity as the lithe Jedi boy literally slithered around and under the bigger warriors. Not a single person seemed to be aware of what he was doing because he didn't touch any of them. "How is he...?" Bo started to ask, with wide eyes. 

"Former street rat." Kanan said as his only explanation. 

That was enough. Bo got it. _Orphan, then, most likely. _She also concluded that he was probably older than he looked because nearly every street rat she'd met had been half starved and smaller than they should be. But they did make fantastic spies and informants.

Ezra grinned to himself in triumph when he'd maneuvered his way to the front of the jostling and impatient line without any exclamations of protest. He arrived just in time, too, because there was only five plates of cake left. 

He snatched one up and that's when someone finally figured out he'd just cut in front of about forty people. 

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" a very large warrior with dark skin and purple eyes growled at him, prompting more protests of a similar nature to erupt down the entire line. 

Ezra smirked at the young man who reminded him of Ketsu for some reason. "I'm taking a piece of cake. What does it look like?"

"I don't think so, Jedi." The warrior moved to snatch it from his hand but Ezra was faster. 

He jumped backwards, balancing the cake carefully, and assessed the situation. The warriors were all but salivating like rabid mookas as they closed in on him menacingly. In his mind, Kanan was laughing again, curse him. 

_"How are you going to get yourself out of this one?" _Kanan teased unmercifully. 

_"I take it no help is on its way?"_

_"Not a chance. This is way too entertaining."_

_"Thanks,"_ Ezra replied, layering on the sarcasm.

Making a decision based on his will to live, Ezra gathered the Force around him and leapt, flying right over the heads of the shocked warriors. _Thank whomever that the ceiling on this tent is generous, _he thought as the top of his head scraped the material.

"Now that's just cheating!" the first warrior called across the tent as Ezra landed beside his table.

Ezra turned his head over his shoulder and yelled back, "All's fair in love, cake, and war!"

Amidst the rumbles of discontent and even a few chuckles, Ezra presented the slice of cake to Sabine with a flourish. "For you, My Lady."

Sabine took the cake graciously, grinning widely. "Thank you, Kind Sir."

Beaming with pride, Ezra sank back down onto the bench beside her. She snuggled in close and then shoveled in a bite of cake, moaning in pleasure again.

Ezra couldn't have been happier. Or more turned on. 

_"Smooth, kid. Real smooth."_

Ezra smiled across the table at Kanan as he snuck an arm over Sabine's shoulders again, and she turned to kiss his cheek between bites of cake. _"I thought so."_

The warriors were still grumbling and giving Ezra dirty looks, which he was blithely ignoring, but Bo had had enough of their childishness. 

She stood abruptly drawing every eye to her and silence quickly filled the room. "Get over yourselves already! Jedi or not, the boy won that cake for Countess Wren. Although not exactly in the fairest fashion, but it's done, so shut up or get out."

No one moved. 

No one said a word. 

No one dared. 

Nodding in satisfaction, Bo sat back down again, smiling to herself. 

Her tablemates gave her grateful smiles and Fenn winked. Bo had the sudden urge to fan herself. 

_"I like her," _Kanan thought to Ezra.

Ezra laughed back. _"Don't let Hera hear you say that," _ he teased.

Kanan kicked him under the table. 


	5. Requited Attraction

**Requited Attraction:**

"Would you like to stay here for the night?"

Kanan wiped the grin off his face with a concealing hand as he watched Fenn Rau's signature literally come to an attentive point like a well trained hunting mooka. _Fenn's got it bad. Annnnd the love bug strikes again. _The older Mandalorian male was so enamoured with Bo-Katan Kryze that even the invitation made in the name of innocent efficiency was enough to make the poor man twitch to attention. Literally. _I'm sure he's quite thankful for his codpiece right now. Or cursing it. _(Kanan knew from experience there was very little room for growth behind the armour meant to protect one's groin.)

Despite the fact that the vibrant woman (he had no idea what her actual colouring was, but her Force signature was that particularly energetic and determined blend that made him guess redhead) was addressing their whole group, Kanan was the only one capable of replying at the moment.

Fenn seemed to be working on retrieving his tongue from where he'd swallowed it, and Alrich Wren was frowning at the cake crumbs on his plate while his signature radiated deep sorrow, and the kids were both mentally elsewhere; Sabine back on her datapad with studious intent, and Ezra gazing at her like he was trying to figure out how it was possible that she'd singlehandedly hung the stars in the sky. (Like usual.)

And… Kanan was supposed to be the leader of their little group (but Sabine had somehow taken over for the most part.), so he answered the Countess of Clan Kryze who was seated beside Alrich. "That would be most appreciated, I'm sure. We're all tired, and flying back to our camp seems like a waste of time and resources."

Bo-Katan nodded with a regal inclination of her head. "That is what I guessed." She waved her hand at a large, armoured man sitting on her far side. (The man hadn't said much, but Kanan had seen him studying their group through the entire meal with a keen intelligence, coming to who-knew-what kind of conclusions. _Hopefully good ones, but not likely. We're not exactly showing our best sides at the moment._) "This is my second in command, Kar-Anar. He will find accommodations for you. And there is power and fuel for your droid, if he is running low."

"Of course I fragging am!" Chopper beeped from the end of the end of the table where he'd parked himself, waving his manipulators in exasperation. "You've had me fragging flying all over this fragging dust ball all fragging day!"

"Chopper! What did Hera tell you about your language in polite company?" Kanan admonished, wishing he was close enough to kick the droid.

"What polite company? These Mandalorian meatbags curse more than I do!"

Bo hid a smile behind her cup. _The droid has a valid point. _"You need not scold your droid on my behalf. As he pointed out, I am used to coarse language. And Chopper has been a valiant warrior today. He deserves a little pampering." _And he really does need more power and fuel if he's to be of use in our next mission._

Kanan somehow resisted the urge to scowl, keeping his face blank, as Chopper basked in the praise. _How come Chopper always manages to win the females over to his side? It makes zero sense. They should be the ones most offended by his pain-in-the-ass behaviour._

"Finally! Someone acknowledges my contributions!"

Kanan growled under his breath, making Ezra chuckle quietly. (Apparently the boy had swum up from the pool known as Sabine to listen to the conversation around him.) _I'll acknowledge your contributions right out the nearest airlock the next time we're in hyperspace, you bloody rustbucket. _

Bo smiled at the out-of-date astromech and then nodded slightly to Kar. He immediately rose to his feet. "Come," he commanded their guests.

Ezra nearly fell over as he stood, he was silently laughing so hard from Kanan's internal dialogue. Kanan had to steady him with a subtle hand. _Hunh. Apparently I thought that last one with a little too much enthusiasm. _

_"Yes, you did." _Ezra thought back down their bond. _"Don't let Hera catch you saying that one out loud."_

_"She already did. Twice. I slept alone for days each time."_

Ezra's shoulders shook harder, but he somehow kept it all internal. Kanan was impressed. The boy sucked in a breath of air to calm himself back down and then bent over Sabine, whispering in her ear that it was time to move.

The girl hummed in acknowledgement but didn't budge, still typing away on her datapad at lightning speed. (Her two pieces of chocolate cake had only distracted her for a few minutes, unfortunately.) Ezra ended up picking her up by her elbows and placing her on her feet and then guiding her from behind as they walked and she typed, all of them following Kar-Anar Kryze.

Except for Fenn, that is. Kanan was not surprised. He didn't bother to hide his grin, since he brought up the rear of their little train.

While Kanan waited for their borrowed tent to be set up by Kar-Anar, Alrich, Sabine, and Ezra, the kids giggling as they rushed to outdo each other, Kanan had Chopper make an attempt at contacting Hera. He wanted to let her know what was happening. And hear her voice. Her beautiful voice that had always made his heart sing.

Kanan could live without his sight, but he wasn't sure if he'd survive if he never heard Hera talk to him again. The frequent thought was a reminder that things could always be worse and to be grateful for what he did have.

"She's not picking up either the Ghost comm or her wrist comm," Chopper beeped forlornly. (The droid missed Hera just as much as Kanan did, as loathe as the Jedi was to admit it.)

Kanan sighed. _Probably busy with Rebellion stuff. Maybe she's flying something new. That would make her happy. _"Leave her a message then. Tell her that we are going into battle in a few hours and that I will call her back as soon as we're safe."

"Okay." A moment later… "It's done. I'm going to charge with the other droids."

Kanan waved his hand distractedly at the droid. "Sure. Have fun. Try not to get in trouble."

Chopper rolled off, raising a manipulator in a crude gesture.

_I'm going to pretend I didn't see that. _

_I hope Hera's okay. _He reached for his bond with her, weak at this distance, but still a reassuring hum in his soul. She felt happy, bubbly, excited. _Definitely flying something new. I bet it's those new X-Wings the Rebellion ordered. I hope High Command recognizes her skill and gives her an appropriate position of command._

_The kids sure are falling into their new relationship quickly, _he thought as he watched their signatures tussle over a tent pole and who got to put up the last one. They ended up rolling on the ground, having a tickle fight that produced a lot of wheezing laughter while Kanan and the other two older men finished the tent and put up the cots.

"Are they always like that?" the father of one of the rollees stage whispered to Kanan.

Kanan snorted. "Pretty much, but now I'm resigned to the inevitable make out sessions that come with their new relationship. It was much easier on me to think of them as just best friends. This is going to take some getting used to."

Ezra chose that moment to hear Kanan, as the Master had intended, his signature lighting up with embarrassment as he pulled Sabine up onto her feet. "I swear we'll try not to make you uncomfortable, Kanan."

Sabine dug her elbow into Ezra's side. "Maybe we should. How many times have we caught him and Hera in a compromising position over the years? Isn't it time for a little payback?"

Kanan groaned, hiding his face behind a scrubbing hand as Kar-Anar outright laughed at him as he snapped the last cot into an upright and usable position. "Good luck with those two. You're going to need it." The Kryze warrior clapped Alrich on the back, making the smaller man stumble a step. "It's good to see you in one piece still, brother. We should catch up when things settle down again."

Alrich nodded at the man, squeezing his shoulder in return. "It's good to see you as well, Kar. It's been too long."

Kar nodded back. "It has. But at least we're all back on the same side again. That has happened so rarely in the last few decades," he said over his shoulder as he left their tent.

Ezra and Sabine settled onto the edge of a cot with her all but in his lap as he wrapped an arm around her waist and nestled his chin on top of her head. At least she'd given up her fascination with the datapad. Kanan chose the cot in the middle of the five, and Alrich picked the one to Kanan's left, leaving an empty one beside the kids' so that they could sleep side by side if they wanted. _Now there's a generous father. Not so sure I wouldn't be putting up a ten metre thick wall between them, if it was me and that was my real daughter. _

Kanan turned his head towards Alrich. "Soooo, was that your real brother, or just a term of friendship?" Because Kanan couldn't really see things like detailed facial features and eye colour, he had no idea if there was a familial resemblance.

"My real brother," Alrich said with a smile. "Older, and the 'normal' one in our immediate family. The rest of us are artists and politicians. He glommed onto Bo's branch of the family as a child as soon as he realized he didn't fit in with ours. They've been fairly inseparable ever since."

"Should I be telling Fenn his attraction to Bo-Katan is going to hit a big wall?" Kanan asked.

Alrich laughed and so did Sabine. "No. Fenn has a shot, sort of," Sabine offered. "Aside from the fact that Uncle Kar is married and has two kids, he and Bo are more like siblings than Father and he are. Right Father?"

"True. But Sabine's right about the 'sort of' as well; Bo's had maybe three semi-serious relationships in her whole life, and they didn't last long."

"That sounds like Fenn," Ezra said with a laugh. "From what I've been able to pry out of him, he's waiting for his cyar'ika to show up."

"You don't think Bo is her, do you?" Sabine asked with wide eyes, turning her head over her shoulder to look at Kanan.

Kanan shrugged. "It's possible. Fenn's Force signature seems to think so. I'm assuming his mind is also of the same persuasion."

"That would be fantastic if they got together," Sabine gushed. "Those two deserve to be happy."

* * *

Fenn slid over into the space Alrich had vacated, placing him within breathing distance of Bo-Katan's enticing scent of soap and woman. "Thank you for defending Ezra a few minutes ago. The boy is over-enthusiastic sometimes, but he means well."

Bo's mouth twitched up into a smile, unobtrusively studying the handsome lines of Fenn's face. "I noticed. He does seem competent enough under pressure, though, if a little bumbly. And his dedication to Sabine can't be questioned."

"No, it can't. He'll protect her to his last breath, and you can't ask for a better consort than that."

Bo frowned slightly at the man, head tilting a little to the side as she turned on the bench and studied him more openly. "You seem quite comfortable with the Jedi and the girl who was a known Dar'manda. How did this come to be? For while I have not met you before, I have heard of you, Fenn Rau, Protector of Concord Dawn. You used to train the clones to fly. You fought for the Republic. You defend the traditional Mandalorian way of life fiercely. It used to be a known fact that you had no good feelings left towards the Jedi that supposedly betrayed the Republic, nor the Rebellion that fights foolishly against the Empire, but now you work willingly with both. And I know you would never abandon your honour long enough to befriend a dar'manda girl, so there must be some fascinating stories to your tale. I want to hear them." Her eyes flicked around the tent, which had gradually hushed as those around them overheard her speaking. "We all do."

Fenn was pleased, to say the least, that she was willingly engaging in further conversation instead of dismissing him. This woman was everything he'd ever hoped to find in a mate for himself, but had never yet stumbled across. At his age of fifty-two, Fenn had basically given up finding his cyar'ika. His parents had had a cold and miserable arranged marriage, inspiring Fenn to want the complete opposite. To find one's soulmate was not the easiest thing to do, but it was always worth it, according to those who had.

He slid just a fraction closer to her, pushing Alrich's dessert plate out of the way. "You know an impressive amount about me, Lady Kryze, and I have to admit I know much about you as well."

"Bo. You can call me Bo."

Fenn did an internal happy dance, smiling warmly at her. "Bo, then."

Bo found herself smiling just as sweetly back. His deep voice seemed to caress the single syllable of her nickname with every possible innuendo, inspiring a wave of heat to brighten her cheeks and emerald eyes. "You can skip my back story. Everyone here knows it. Just tell me more about you… And the Jedi and the girl." _Haar'chak! Do you think he noticed the pause?_

Of course Fenn noticed the pause. Everyone in the tent did, inspiring a few raised eyebrows. Countess Kryze was notoriously standoffish with men who showed her too much attention, but this man seemed to be climbing through her defenses quite easily. They were going to be watching the development of their relationship with eager eyes and gossiping mouths.

Fenn's internal happy dance was degenerating into a happy puppy wiggle, but you'd never know it from his face. Decades of self-discipline were worth something, after all. "All right. First off, I should clarify that I've never believed that bantha crap about the Jedi betraying the Republic, so I'm not sure where you heard that one. I fought with many of them during the Clone Wars and for the most part, they seemed every bit as honourable as a Mandalorian. They listened to their Republic keepers like well trained mookas and with just as much dedication as the programmed clones."

"Hmmm. So you're saying they were essentially slaves to the Republic, like the clones were?" _That fits with the impressions I got of Kenobi. He seemed like he was betraying everything by coming to save my sister alone and against orders. If he'd had backup by more Jedi, maybe Satine would not have died._

"That's the impression I got. Most of them were incredibly brave fighters, too, and very worthy of respect. They had no problems fighting with my squad, so the Mando/Jedi wars were far from their minds or completely forgotten. In fact, the first time I met Jarrus was way back then, at the Third Battle of Mygeeto. He was just a kid, a Padawan, barely fourteen if he was a day, but he fought just as hard as the rest of us. WE don't even send our children into battle until they're sixteen. The Republic was brutal to the Jedi and they just took it. If they were going to rebel against the orders of the Senate, they would have done it much sooner than three years into war and hundreds upon hundreds of Jedi casualties later. I'm positive the so called Jedi uprising was a front to wipe them out. Palpatine had the perfect tools in place to do it, too, with those clones. When you fight beside someone day after day, you learn them inside and out. The clones knew exactly how to defeat their Generals. I know it goes against everything we were taught as children, but I feel sorry for the few Jedi still alive, and all of you should as well."

Bo watched her clan and the visiting ones nod, and murmur to each other. Fenn's words had brought a new perspective that none of them had ever thought of. A necessary one, it seemed. "I have always had a soft spot for the Jedi, or at least one of them. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi did everything in his power to save my sister, against the orders of the Jedi Council and the Senate, and I will never forget that. Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger and any other Jedi they happen to raise or come across will always be welcome in my home or camp." This was said pointedly towards those assembled more than at Fenn, and they knew it. The drop of their eyes said so.

Satisfied that she'd made her point, Bo refocused on the man on her right, who somehow seemed even closer than the last time she looked. _Sneaky bastard. But he smells really good, so I think I'll let it slide. And those glacier blue eyes are something else. Is my heart beating faster than normal? _"So how did you meet Jarrus and his Padawan again? Does it have anything to do with Saxon's gloating over his annihilation of the Protectors?" She was unsurprised to see Fenn's eyes instantly harden into chips of ice. _Someone hates Gar Saxon just as much as I did._

Fenn nearly snarled. "Saxon. May he rot in the seven hells." He took a deep breath and regained control of his emotions before he came across as overly savage. "Yes, they did have something to do with it. Sabine too. I hated them at first, believing they had caused the death of my Protectors. But later I found out that I owed them my life."

"So that's why you fight with them now? A life debt?" _That makes sense. _The other warriors seemed to think so too, looks of understanding crossing their faces.

Fenn smiled crookedly. "Yes. And no. They've earned my respect and loyalty. Let me tell the story of how I met them, and you'll understand, I think."

Bo nodded with her eyes. "All right."

"Nearly two years ago, a small squad of Rebellion A-Wings jumped into space near Concord Dawn. They wanted to talk about using the nearby hyperspace lane for their Rebel ships to pass through the sector safely and negotiate an alliance against the Empire. But because I had an understanding with said Empire, it was my duty to eliminate them. We did. All but three that jumped away. One was Sabine, another was Hera Syndulla."

Bo raised a brow. "Syndulla? As in General Syndulla? The famous Twi'lek rebel?"

Fenn nodded grimly. "Yes, his daughter. And Kanan's cyar'ika. And I almost killed her when she put herself between my entire squad and Sabine so the girl could jump to safety. I'm not even sure how her A-Wing made the jump back, it was flaming so badly."

"Osik."

"Exactly. Hera is one of the best pilots I've ever met. Maybe only second to Skywalker, who I had the privilege to fly with on a few occasions. It would have been a crying shame if she'd been lost in that skirmish." Fenn's shoulders dropped slightly as he sighed. "Anyway, about a day later, Wren and Jarrus show up at my camp. Jarrus had come to try and talk some sense into me, having remembered me from before, and Sabine had come to destroy me for all but killing someone she considers family. Kanan had apparently talked her into something a little less Mandalorian and a little more Jedi at some point, because she did challenge me to a Fight to the Death, but only shot the blaster from my hand and then blew up all but one of our Fang fighters and half the camp. It seemed like she wanted to see me fail and Kanan had talked her into capturing me as their plan."

"Sounds like Ursa in a good mood," Bo said with a smirk, sipping from her cup of mead. She gave Kar-Anar a brief smile as he sat back down beside her, nodding to indicate that their guests had been satisfactorily accommodated.

"They are disturbingly similar," Fenn said with a chuckle, until his face fell. "Or… they were." He shook his head, dispelling the gloom. "Anyway, I made for the last fighter still in one piece that she must not have had time to attach an explosive to, so I could track down whatever ship they arrived in and blow it to pieces in retaliation while my men supposedly took care of capturing them alive. I had a vision of forcing them to watch me destroy whatever pathetic Rebel fleet that they had in their arsenal."

_A Fighter for a Fighter, of course, but we Mandalorians like to take it up a notch with each successive exchange of blows. _"I take it you weren't successful?" Bo smirked at the man as he flushed in embarrassment.

"Yeah, no. Kanan jumped on my fighter and absolutely would not be shaken off as I flew. Bloody clingy Jedi," Fenn said with a hint of respect under the annoyed tone. "Then he disabled my ship with his lightsabre, slashed the transparisteel cover off the cockpit, and proceeded to punch me out with one blow. He might not look like the strongest man you've ever seen, but he hits like a Star Destroyer. I woke up with my hands manacled together, tied to the seat of a shuttle. Sabine was glaring at me from the seat across the way, possibly still contemplating murder, and Kanan was flying. I was escorted to Phoenix Cell's flag ship, made the acquaintance of their Commander, Jun Sato, who died a hero's death in their escape from Chopper base a couple days ago, came to a reluctant alliance for the use of the hyperspace lane with him, and was then escorted to a cell."

"Lovely."

"I thought so. I was a very pissed off, very uncooperative 'guest' for a long time."

"How long?"

"More than a year."

"By the Manda, you must have been going insane." _I know I would have if I was locked up for that long._

"I was. They did let me out for exercise every day, though. Under supervision, of course. My favourite form of exercise was sparring with the members of their cell and beating the crap out of them." Fenn grinned when Bo and many others laughed. "There were only a few who challenged me, and even beat me on occasion; Kanan, Sabine, Ezra, and a clone called Rex, who you may have heard of. He was Captain of the 501st."

"Skywalker's unit? Blue on white?" she asked in surprise.

"Yes."

"Then yes, I've worked with and fought beside him, actually. He was Commander of the offshoot unit that helped me win Mandalore back from Maul. Our people owe him and the Togrutan Jedi, Ahsoka Tano, a great debt which I never had the chance to pay them back for. I'd heard that their Venator went down on the way back to Coruscant and that there were no survivors. But if Rex is still alive - and I'm surprised there are any clones left considering the rapid aging - then perhaps I'll get my chance."

"It's possible," Fenn said with a slight smile. "And Rex has actually gotten younger looking since I first met him, since someone finally made a cure for their aging problem. Funny thing is, I'm pretty sure I taught him to fly when he was just a cadet. Time is a funny thing and the galaxy is smaller than one would expect, the way I seem to keep running into people from my past."

"That does tend to happen," Bo said with an amused smile. "I hope that works for me in this case."

His expression sobered again. "I can probably make Rex appear in your vicinity, But as for Tano, I've never met her, but I through hushed rumours that she didn't survive a fight with Darth Vader."

Bo's green eyes went from bright jade to dark with grief in an instant. "Shab, that is a shame. She was such an amazingly kind person and a worthy warrior. I liked her. Worked and trained with her for almost four months. Even Ursa liked her, and that's saying something."

"It is," Fenn responded with a flicker of a rueful smile. "She only tolerated me."

"She liked me," Kar said with a proud smirk.

"You were her brother-in-law and a more warrior-like version of her cyar'ika," Bo said with a roll of her eyes. "Of course she liked you."

Kar just grinned into his mead. 

With an even more exaggerated roll of her eyes, Bo shoved him just hard enough to make him spill on himself. 

Fenn laughed along with their neighbours as he sputtered and she turned her focus back on him. "So... back to where we were. How did you go from reluctant 'guest' to a free ally of the Rebellion?"

Fenn snorted. "The hard way, of course. When Saxon razed the Protector camp, the Rebels lost communication with them so they decided to send someone to investigate; Sabine, Ezra, and Chopper to be specific. I talked them into letting me accompany them. On the flight there, I found a moment when Ezra was distracted, turning all of his attention to Sabine - which has got to be his biggest weakness by the way, boy's gotta work on that – and I knocked him out from behind. I borrowed his blaster and stunned Sabine before she could get out of the pilot's chair. I flew us the rest of the way to Concord Dawn without their astromech even knowing that something had happened until we landed and I was the only one to walk out of the shuttle. Chopper spent a good minute cursing me in binary and even tried to shock me, the little shit. But I ignored him as I ran over to see why there was so much smoke trailing across the sky."

Fenn's shoulders drooped a little with remembered sorrow, inspiring Bo to put a hand on his thigh in support as she knew what was coming next. He looked at her with a flash of his eyes that said he was very aware of where her hand was, and he liked it. _Of course he does, he's a male isn't he? _

Bolstered by Bo's sympathetic gaze and the touch of her elegant hand on him that was sending sparks up and down his body with awareness, Fenn continued his story after taking a long swig of his mead to help control his body's reactions. "What I found was a destroyed camp and bodies everywhere. Not a single warrior had been spared Saxon's execution. The angle of the shots indicated that they'd been attacked from above by high powered weapons, and had barely been given a chance to defend themselves. I would have died along with my men if I hadn't been in the care of the Rebels."

As their listeners growled with outrage, Bo also curled her lip up in distaste. "That sounds like the usual dishonourable crap that Gar Saxon used to pull on a regular basis. He ruled by fear; join him or die. It took me a long time to convince even a few clans to oppose him. Many more joined me when he died and his even slimier brother took over."

"We have the Wrens to thank for that," Fenn said with grim smile. "But I almost left Sabine to die at Saxon's hands on Concord Dawn. In a move that I'm now quite ashamed of, while Sabine and Ezra were occupied fighting Saxon and his Super Commandoes that had showed up only minutes after we did, I took off in their shuttle. I was nearly out of the system when my conscience sent me back. I was just in time to blow up Saxon's Kom'rk and see Sabine and Saxon fighting in an all out brawl. The girl was holding her own, no question about it, even being half his size." Fenn smiled fondly in memory. "She impressed me that day, and the respect that had been growing for her over the last year became a full-fledged thing. I willingly joined the Rebellion after that. Some months later, Sabine found the Darksabre while Ezra was dealing with Maul yet again."

"Maul?" The gasp came from more than one person in the tent.

"Yes, Maul. He'd become rather determined to win Ezra over for his own apprentice."

"Really?" The doubt in Bo's voice was clear to everyone. "I don't see why."

Fenn smirked. "Yes, really. The boy may seem like a bumbling, lovesick fool to most, but Kanan says he's incredibly powerful with the Force, especially when it comes to visions of the future and his ability to communicate with animals. And I've seen him in action on many an occasion; he actually is a very good fighter. His inexperience with a jetpack today did not shine him in the brightest light, I'm afraid, but that's Sabine's fault. He begged her for months to let him practice with hers or make him his own, but she refused, saying he had his Force abilities and to leave her something that was just hers."

"I can see her point, but he did look like an absolute di'kut today. He should have left it off and used the Force like Jarrus did."

"But then we may have lost Alrich Wren as well."

Bo frowned. "Good point."

"Ezra was very insistent that he get a jetpack of his own this morning. I'm guessing he knew he'd need it. He rarely puts his foot down when it comes to Sabine, but when he does, she listens because she knows it's actually important."

"That's something, at least," Bo said with a smirk. "Otherwise I'd think Sabine had just claimed herself a pushover. Having a man worship you is one thing, but they still have to have a mind of their own."

Fenn's eyes grew slightly heavy lidded as he placed his own hand over the one that was still on his thigh, tracing his thumb over the top of her hand, thankful he'd pulled his gloves off to eat so he could feel the satin texture of her skin. "I can assure you I have a mind of my own, My Lady Bo. I can also promise an unprecedented amount of worship." he murmured huskily.

Beside her, Kar-Anar snorted into his mead. Bo kicked her closest friend in the shin without even looking. She was pleased to hear him suck in a breath and then choke on the liquid he'd been swallowing. _Serves him right. I can make eyes at a man if I want to. Not that I'm usually inclined to do so, but this fine man here is worth a second look. And a third. And maybe without any clothes on. We'll have to see how things progress. _

To distract herself from the tingles racing up her arm that seemed to be working through her and down to her core, Bo asked, "I believe you were there on Krownest when Saxon was defeated?"

He nodded. "I was. Kanan had been training Sabine with the Darksabre, which she was very reluctant to touch at first, knowing what it represented. Sabine is a born leader, but I don't think she saw herself as such, not until recently. When we all felt that she was ready to face a real opponent with it, and she was mentally in the right place, she agreed to go back to Krownest and try to make amends with her mother in a bid to win help from us Mandalorians in the Rebellion cause. Ursa, of course, betrayed Sabine and called Saxon, feeling like it was the only way to preserve the safety of her clan. When Saxon showed up, he in turn betrayed Ursa and declared the entire clan as traitors for harbouring fugitives from the Empire… After Ursa gave him the Darksabre."

"Bastard." There were many nods of agreement from those eagerly hanging on Fenn's every word. Ursa had told Bo her side of the story, but it was always nice to hear another.

Fenn squeezed her hand gently for agreeing with him. "A fight ensued, of course, after Saxon made Tristan choose between his family and his loyalty to the Super Commandoes. Tristan chose family."

"As he should. He was a good son. A promising warrior. He will be missed. Everyone we lost today will be missed." The occupants of the tent hung their heads in a moment of respect at Bo's words.

"Korkie," Kar whispered into the silence, and was heard by all. The moment of respect became another, deeper one.

Fenn bowed his head along with the others, but kept an eye on Bo in his peripheral vision. When he saw her swallow convulsively, and felt her hand tense as though it wanted to curl into a fist under his, he threaded his fingers through hers in a show of silent support.

Bo took a slow, deep breath and squeezed Fenn's hand back in gratitude. She broke the silence. "Tell me the rest of your story, please." _I need the distraction._

Fenn smiled softly at her, wishing they were alone. He'd cup her beautiful face in his hands and kiss her forehead. And then keep kissing downwards until he reached her petal soft looking lips. _And hope she doesn't punch me out for it._ "Of course. A fight broke out and in the chaos, Saxon snuck up on Ursa with the intention of cleaving her in two with the Darksabre. Sabine saw what was happening and moved to shoot him, but someone shot the blaster right out of her hand. Ezra, seeing her predicament, threw his lightsabre at Sabine from all the way across the Great Hall, and she rushed to defend her mother just in time. Saxon and Sabine fought with lightsabres, flying through the glass and out into the snow. She won. Fairly and honourably. She won the Darksabre back."

The tent inhaled as a whole, knowing what that meant; Sabine was rightfully the next Mand'alor if she wanted to be.

"With two lightsabres held crosswise around Saxon's neck, she could have ended it then and there. But as I said earlier, the Jedi have influenced her towards compassion. She walked away, leaving him to live with his defeat by a teenage girl to weigh on his soul. I almost agree with her choice, for that would be hard to live with for any respectable warrior. But he met his end only seconds later when he drew a blaster on Sabine, pointing it at her back. Ursa shot him through the forehead. No mercy shown for anyone who would do such a dishonourable thing. Gar Saxon was a blight on this galaxy, and we are well rid of him."

"Hear, hear!" the crowd cheered.

When they settled down, Bo rose to her feet, gently extracting her hand from Fenn's warm and callused one with a tinge of regret, and waited for all eyes to fall on her. "Now, all we have to do is remove Tiber Saxon from power and Mandalore will be ours again!"

The tent roared with cheers.

Bo smiled at them, pleased with her people.

Fenn rose to his feet and scooped up his helmet and gloves, gaze locked on her smiling eyes through the whole maneuver. When she focused on him again, he gently grasped her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing her knuckles gallantly. "I shall take my leave now, My Lady. I look forward to fighting at your side on the morrow."

Bo felt herself blushing while Kar snickered behind her again. _Someone needs another kick._ She extracted her hand from Fenn's before he took up the notion to kiss it some more, which would seriously mess with her self control. "As do I, Lord Rau. May your sleep be deep and untroubled."

Fenn's mouth quirked up in amusement. "And yours, Beautiful Bo. But I have a feeling my sleep will be graced by visions of you, leaving me quite… unsettled." he murmured in that husky bedroom voice again that had played havoc with her nerve-endings the first time he'd used it.

Bo felt the sudden urge to fan herself. _Who turned the heat on in my bodysuit?_ She shoved Fenn away from their table playfully. "Go on with you or neither of us is going to get any sleep tonight."

Fenn planted his feet to the floor, refusing to be budged until he was ready. "Promise?"

Bo huffed at him, blushing harder than she ever remembered doing. "No. Now get out of here and I might contemplate picking this discussion up again tomorrow after we take care of the Empire."

Fenn smiled like a very content tooka. _I'll take it._ "Good night, My Lady," he breathed in her ear, leaning into her personal space. "Dream of me."

As Bo's breath caught, pupils dilating with awareness and desire, Fenn beat a strategic retreat.

Bo watched his broad shoulders walk away, trailing her eyes down the tapering back to a very fine set of buttocks. _That man is asking to be eaten alive, and I can't wait to do it. Seeing him naked is definitely a priority now. _

Kar's snorting laughter registered once again. Bo turned and smacked him upside the head. "Cut it out or I'm telling Nuala that you were ogling another woman."

"Hey! That's not fair. I haven't ogled anyone but my wife since I met her."

"It's fair if I say it's fair. Now stop laughing at my courtship."

Kar sighed. "Yes, Bo. But it's so much fun watching you fall all over yourselves and be all goggly eyed."

Bo sighed, rolling her non-googly eyes. "Whatever. Let's hit the sack and hopefully this lot will follow our example. They'll be lucky if they get three hours of sleep at this rate.

* * *

Fenn was practically whistling and his steps bouncing as he made his way down rows of tents, aiming for the furthest one in the hopes that it was the correct one by process of logic. He could have asked Kar-Anar where his accommodations for the night were, but he hadn't wanted to lose the impact of his final words to Bo. Nor had he wanted to listen to any more of the brunette man's snickering. _Man is definitely related to__ Alrich. Aside from looking similar enough - if you make Alrich bigger - __they have the same warped sense of humour._

Fenn stopped at the last tent, which still had its door open and peered inside.

He grinned when he found his group sitting on their cots (the kids together on one), chatting away about all the places and things Sabine had 'improved' with her graffiti by the sounds of it.

"Did you really paint an entire TIE?" Alrich asked, chuckling.

"She really did," Ezra said proudly.

"And then they flew it into Tarkin's Star Destroyer to rescue me," Kanan said, sounding like he was rolling his eyes under his mask. "A stupider plan had…"

"It was brilliant!" Sabine protested.

"More ill conceived…"

"It worked didn't it?" Ezra defended.

Kanan didn't deign to answer, just shook his head at his Padawan and then turned his focus to Fenn, who was hovering the in the doorway. "How did it go with Lady Kryze?"

Fenn beamed and closed the door before sauntering over to the empty cot on the far right. "Oh, it went." _And that's all I'm saying about it to you lot of nosy children. _

He pulled off his armour, setting an example for the others who all started moving and disrobing to various degrees, and then settled on his cot, pulling the military issue blanket over his body. As he relaxed into the marginally comfortable mattress, there was a huge smile on his face that he doubted would ever wipe off.

_Oh yes, It went, all right. Countess Bo-Katan Kryze will be mine within a week or I'll eat my boots. _

_Thank the Manda, I finally found my cyar'ika. _

On the other side of the tent, Ezra and Sabine lay facing each other, eyes open in the dark, until his fluttered closed from exhaustion and eventually stayed that way. _Good night, Sabine, _was his last thought before dreamland took him.

_Good night, Ez'ika, _Sabine thought when his eyes closed, happily drinking in his handsome features for one more minute before she turned over onto her back, studying the ceiling of the tent with barely registering eyes as memories and regrets flooded her yet again.

One cot over from Fenn, Alrich's good humour faded away as he mourned the loss of his cyar'ika and son, knowing he'd never again wear a silly, lovesick grin like Fenn was sporting, silent tears once again streaming down his face. _I miss you, Ursa._

And in the middle, Kanan's eyes closed as he pulled a memory of Hera in all her gorgeous green glory into the forefront of his mind; her soft curves and strong limbs wrapping around him in his imagination. _I miss you, Hera._

* * *

_Mando'a translations:_

_Kar-Anar - a play on words that would roughly translate to 'One who defends with his heart.'_


	6. You're Mine Now

** _You're Mine Now_ **

_D3/1 BBY, Bo-Katan's camp, Mandalore_

Kanan relaxed deeper into his borrowed bed, the image of Hera his calm center in the storm that was life.

Ezra's Force signature was already dormant, his mind untroubled with their action filled day. Like Kanan was in the process of doing, the boy had already released into the Force any negative emotions he'd had about having to injure or even kill their enemy during the day's battles.

The other three occupants of the tent, though, were anything but peaceful.

Fenn's signature was still bubbling with energy after what must have been a very successful first attempt at courting. He was nowhere near settled enough to get some necessary sleep.

And the Wrens were both shrouded in dark and miserable energy; their sorrow over the day's losses eating at their souls.

Sabine's was even worse than Alrich's because she was also swimming in a sea of shame and self blame. The girl was bound to explode sooner than later. But Kanan trusted in the Force to help her when the time was right. _Probably in Ezra's arms. Which he will undoubtedly appreciate to the fullest possible extent. _The thought brought the faint twitch of a smile to Kanan's mouth.

_Let's see if we can help them get some sleep, at least._

Kanan purposefully made his breathing just loud enough to hear while he settled into his calm center and began to push it outwards. He used his connection with the Force to radiate a sense of serenity into everyone around him that even the non Force Sensitive should be able to feel.

Within minutes, both Fenn and Alrich had unconsciously matched their breathing to his and their signatures settled back to a more normal state. Sabine… not so much, but a few layers of the seething dark did peel away, so Kanan called that as good as it was going to get until she was ready to release the emotions on her own.

Confident he'd done as much as he could for the time being, the blind Jedi Knight withdrew most of his focus from the Force and let his mind go black and empty except for the imagined sensation of Hera in his arms.

He was asleep five breaths later.

* * *

As the last rustle of bodies settling down for the night brought their tent to peaceful silence, Alrich closed his eyes with a quiet sigh, the drying tear tracks itching on his skin. But he left them, not wanting to move and disturb the serenity of the moment. He found himself matching his breathing to the bearded Jedi on his right, the rhythmic, deep breaths somehow the most calming thing he'd heard in a long time.

He floated in the moment, letting his mind go blank of all emotions much like he imagined it would be like when one was meditating.

_A blank canvas, ready for a fresh view of the world, that's what I am. No past. No future. Just this moment of quiet. And if I can live within each moment, then I'm sure to make it the next. _

Alrich's hard earned peace was soon disturbed by the sounds of footsteps, laughter, and rumbling conversations, but he was close enough to the welcome oblivion of sleep that it didn't prevent that final fall into heavy limbed paralysis that takes you just before the conscious mind shuts down for the night.

* * *

Fenn was reliving every moment of the day that had featured Bo-Katan within it.

And he felt nearly electrified because of it.

Every millimetre of skin felt alive in a way he'd never really felt before. He was aware of even the most mundane locations that hardly ever got noticed, such as the back of his knees or the tips of his ears. And there was one particular part of his body in the middle that was clamouring for more attention than it had demanded since he was a horny teenager.

Fenn felt like he'd been given another shot at life. He felt decades younger. Like all the cynicism and wars and prejudices had become meaningless because only what he did from here on out mattered.

It was incredibly freeing and cathartic. Not to mention kind of funny.

He'd known she was The One from the moment she'd first taken off her helmet on top of the Imperial facility that turned out to be a decoy. He'd seen her image before on holos, of course, and always thought her beautiful in a detached, scornful kind of way, since she had been the enemy more often than not over the course of their lives. _Thank the Manda that's no longer a problem I would have to overcome. _ But seeing her face in real life had thrown her into an entirely new light.

She was breathtakingly stunning. Holos of her didn't even begin to capture the way her pale skin glowed like opalescent pearls. Nor how her green eyes sparkled like the purest of emeralds or dimmed to expensive jade depending on her emotions of the moment. Her vibrant red hair fell like a waterfall of silk down to the strong line of her jaw, held off her face by a silver headband that was more functional than aesthetically pleasing. And her mouth, while set in a determined line more often than not, looked entirely kissable when she smiled.

She was somehow even more beautiful when she smiled. Like her entire being lit up from the inside out.

Fenn wanted to be the reason for her smile for the rest of their lives.

Bo also possessed a lithe body under her armour that made him drool to see her without it. Even just a bodysuit would probably be enough to stop his heart and send all of his blood rushing south in a permanent exodus from his brain.

And shabla, could she ever fight. If Sabine was the kickass princess of warrior females, then Bo-Katan was the Queen. Watching her easily deal with her opponents today had cost him a few extra hits that he could have avoided or blocked if he hadn't been so distracted by her. _But they were sooooo worth it. _

Even watching her fly made him think of avenging goddesses of the old lore; the kind that could fly with only a thought and commanded the skies and legions alike with just a flick of their slender fingers or a flash of their swords of pure sunlight.

And watching her lead tonight… The way all of the other clans respected her and listened without protest… It made him want to kneel at her feet as well and worship her until he had no breath left to give. (Preferably with her hands gripping his hair and her cries of satisfaction ringing like the sweetest music in his ears.)

Fenn was more than pleased with how things had progressed tonight. He'd definitely caught her attention and she'd been very receptive to his not-so-subtle hints of desire. He didn't see any point in playing it safe with her; who knew how long he'd have in her immediate vicinity before duties pulled them apart again? If she didn't want him back, she was the kind of person who would have rebuffed him from the very first slide across the bench into her personal space. _Thank frag she didn't. I would be rather devastated right now if she had; even more heartbroken than Ezra when Sabine decided to stay on Krownest. _

_And now Ezra has his girl and is over the moon about it. Lucky brat. I think his luck might be catching because Bo sure seemed just as turned on as I was at the end there. _

_Maybe tomorrow I'll get the chance to kiss her. _

Fenn smiled in the dark, releasing a quiet sigh of contentment.

That was the point when he realized his body wasn't buzzing anymore but felt languid and sleepy. _Hunh. Weird. I guess I'm tired after all. I suppose it's for the best. _

Closing his eyes, he drifted off quickly, a smile playing on his lips, a hand on his heart, the other resting just above his semi-aroused crotch, and visions of a naked Bo kissing her way down his chest sending him into the most relaxed yet erotic doze of his life.

* * *

Sabine had stripped off her armour, belts, gloves, and boots, but left everything else on, and had all but fallen into the cot, exhausted from the long day, but too agitated to sleep.

Now, half an hour later, with her hands folded over her stomach and her sockinged feet crossed at the ankles, she stared up at the ceiling of the tent while she listened to the breathing of the men turn regular and deep. The lump in the darkness that was Fenn was the first to start snoring. Within minutes, her father joined in and they were snoring in harmony. Then Kanan and Ezra added their own, fortunately softer, versions of proboscis harmonies. Normally, it would have been either comical or annoying as hell, depending on her mood, but tonight, Sabine was mostly just numb.

She'd spent a lot of time thinking at dinner.

Thinking about everything that had gone wrong today; from attacking the wrong facility, to almost losing Ezra, to finding out the hard way that the Duchess was back. Every new thought was more depressing than the last.

So, to distract herself, she'd started mentally digging up her research on the plastoid armour that Imperials wore, pulling it out of a mental file that had been buried more than five years ago. The more she thought about the properties of the plastoid, the more she was convinced she could adopt the Duchess to target it. By the time dinner was over, she'd come up with all of the necessary formulas and calculations on a datapad and then transferred the codes to the computer in her vambrace. Just in case.

Ezra's affectionate touches had been just distracting enough to prevent her from completely getting lost in her mind like she did sometimes. The first one had nearly startled her, because she wasn't used to him being that forward with her person. (Or anyone, for that matter.) But after that, she welcomed them. Even though she knew the reason she was craving touch so much was because she was in an emotionally vulnerable place right now, and she normally would retreat from the world to protect her tough girl shell, Sabine wasn't going to push Ezra away. His gentle touches and sweet little kisses were exactly what she needed to help her remember that she had something worth living and fighting for.

And he seemed to be get a kick out of annoying the other warriors with his displays, which had almost been enough to make her laugh at one point. They were going to have to get used to Ezra in her life whether they liked it or not because she wasn't giving him up for anything.

Her mouth quirked up in a temporary half smile as she remembered how Ezra had risked death to get her a second piece of cake before it was all gone. _So incredibly sweet. But he'd always been like that. I just chose not to see it for what it was. _

Ezra's cake snatching had inspired near chaos from the pack of grumpy Mandalorians but Bo-Katan had swiftly nipped their anger in the bud.

_She certainly has a way with people. Everyone respects her. Everyone looks up to her. _

_I wonder…_

_Is she the leader I've been looking for to give the Darksabre to?_

Sabine decided to see how the mission went tomorrow before deciding for sure, but in the back of her mind, she was pretty much already decided. With Korkie Kryze deceased, Bo-Katan was now the rightful heir to Duchess Satine anyway. And she'd almost been the Mand'alor right after the Siege. _She should be ruling the planet right now, not Saxon scum. _

The Darksabre had found its new Mand'alor.

And it wasn't her.

It never was meant to be, but the thought of giving up the weapon that she'd trained so hard to master hit her harder than it should have. Like Kanan said, she'd connected to it in some fundamental way that she couldn't exactly feel mentally because she wasn't Force sensitive, but her heart knew.

She was going to miss having the lightsabre hanging on her belt. Reaching down a bit, and fumbling blindly at the pile of things beside her bed, she unhooked the lightsabre and clutched it gently in her hands, holding it over her heart, wishing she could hear the subtle hum that Ezra said the black Kyber crystal emitted.

_One more mission. _

_We'll avenge Mother, Tristan, and my other clan members together. And then I'll give you to your new human. You'll like her. She's fierce and proud and every bit as badass as a Mand'alor should be._

_She's exactly what Mandalore needs right now._

_And with the Darksabre in her hand, none will question her right to lead again._

_Not like they'll question me. I don't know if I can be the Countess of my clan. So many people hate me._

_Why? Why did Mother have to die?_

Sabine was grateful to have her father back, but at the cost of losing her mother and brother just made it agonizingly bittersweet. _If I had known this was how it was going to play out, would I have done it again? Could we have done things differently, or was it all a setup by Saxon? Is he even smart enough to orchestrate all of that? How does one choose between the father that you adore and the mother you respect but can't ever love again because of what she did to you? And what about my beloved baby brother? Tristan didn't deserve this. He was only seventeen for frag's sake. None of my clan deserved to die today._

As her thoughts fell into the realm of depression again, her eyes started leaking bitter, frozen tears, the tracks running down into her ears uncomfortably.

Hating herself right now, Sabine rose silently from her cot, keeping the Darksabre in her hand, then grabbed her boots and gun belt and ducked out of the tent. She shoved her feet into her boots, buckled on her belt, hooked the lightsabre to it, and walked with crossed arms holding her together through the nearly silent camp. The guard at the perimeter wall peered at her but didn't say anything as she walked past him out into the desert and just kept walking.

When the camp was just a speck in the distance, she sank to her knees in the sand and let the sorrow take over but held back the screams, not wanting to wake the camp that would hear her, even as far out as she was, since sound carried well on the barren, cracked, and desolate land.

With her head bowed and her shoulders shaking with the force of her grief, her eyes closed and the sound and sight of the Duchess doing its evil work assaulted her mind, memories taking over from today and years ago.

* * *

Some forty-five minutes after dozing off, the seasoned warrior's rest was disturbed by the sound of the tent door opening and closing softly, the sound of a zipper impossible to do silently no matter how hard one tries. (Fenn would know, because he had.)

Fenn's eyes popped open, muscles tensed in a state of battle readiness that came with decades of warfare. He turned his head slowly when there were no further sounds from then tent that didn't belong, mainly being the soft snores of the three other males. Eyes scanning the dark, and breath held, he perceived no threat. Breathing again, Fenn peered at the cots and found the furthest one from him to be empty.

_Sabine left. Probably just to use the fresher. Chillax and go back to sleep._

Exhaling slowly, Fenn rolled onto his side so he had a better view of the tent door and then closed his eyes again. Practice allowed him to fall back into his doze again, but now the faint hint of worry for Sabine kept him from enjoying any more lusty thoughts of Bo.

Not even ten minute later, The Protector's eyes flew open again as Ezra practically jumped off his bunk. He watched the shadow of the boy dress in record time and disappear out the door so fast he didn't even bother to close it behind him.

Looking at the two empty cots, it didn't take a genius to figure out that Ezra was going wherever Sabine was. But judging by the boy's urgency, Fenn assumed that he'd had some sort of Jedi epiphany that indicated the girl was in need of help.

_But not too serious, or Ezra would have woken Kanan. _

_Probably an emotional breakdown, then, which I'm sure Ezra is more than capable of handling. Sabine's entitled to one, I suppose, after the day she's had. Poor girl. _

_I doubt they'll be back anytime soon. _

_Wish I could wander off into the night and give my girl a long hug. _

_And more besides. _

_Rolling around on a bed with Bo sounds like a wonderful idea. _

_Or pushed up against that cliff wall would work just as well. In broad daylight. Then everyone would see she was mine. _

_Doubt she'd go for that, though. Probably a little too caveman-like. Maybe I can get her to cry out loud enough to make my point. _

_I think I just challenged myself. _

_Challenge accepted. Gonna make Bo scream my name within hearing of other people. _

Fenn smirked to himself, tucking an arm above his head as he rolled onto his back. _Wish there were two more evacuations of the tent right now. I could really use a wank. Seriously haven't been this turned on for such an extended period of time for longer than I care to think about. _

He reached down and gave his ambitious package a bit of a rearrange within the confines of his bodysuit into something more comfortable. _Settle down there, buddy. You aren't getting any action tonight. I promise I'll stop giving you suggestive thoughts to feed on until a more appropriate time. _

Like a petulant child, his cock twitched under his hand, all but telling him to 'frag off' for getting him excited in the first place.

Crossing both arms over his chest, Fenn resolved to think about nothing but battle strategy until he fell back to sleep.

* * *

Ezra had been asleep for maybe an hour when jolts of pain and sorrow woke him up, feeling like they came from within him, furrowing his brow in surprise and consternation. He glanced over at Kanan and saw that his Master was sleeping soundly and quietly, the bond between them quiet. Kanan had had his share of bad nights, but this wasn't his grief. _So who...? What?_

Ezra looked to Sabine's cot next and found it empty. Understanding dawned as he realized he was feeling Sabine. _Holy frag. _

Jolting off his cot, he stuffed his feet into his boots, buckled on his weapons belt, and shoved his arms into his orange jacket, having gone to bed in just his t-shirt and trousers. He hurried through the camp, sensing that Sabine needed him. NOW.

Ezra went to pass the guard but paused when the man called out, "She went that way."

The guard wasn't surprised by Ezra appearing shortly after the new Countess had left. He'd seen how protective the young Jedi was of her and had observed them together during the evening meal. The two were clearly close and rumours had been flying around the camp that the new Countess had picked a Jedi as her consort. No one knew quite what to make of that, but no one dared insult her choice now. Not after Countess Kryze had all but endorsed the match. After the Wren girl had retired for the night, Fenn Rau had told the tale of how she had defeated Gar Saxon with the Darksabre and everyone's opinion of her had increased a notch or too. Rightfully possessing the Darksabre also made her one of the most powerful people on Mandalore right now. If she chose to be the next Mand'alor, some would oppose her, but not many.

Ezra gave a quick nod of acknowledgement, not actually needing the help, but was glad the warrior was being friendly. _Had something changed since dinner? _

He took off at a run, beelining for where he felt Sabine's presence off in the distance, his path lit by faint moonlight. As her sorrow built and built to something he wasn't sure even she, with all her innate strength, could survive, Ezra pushed his legs into moving faster, calling on the Force to lend him the speed of the wind.

Within moments, he was sinking down to the sand beside her and drawing her into his lap, hugging his arms around her shaking body. He knew she hadn't had enough time to grieve properly earlier, and so wasn't too surprised by this, but his heart near broke for her anyway.

"Shhhhh. I'm here, cyar'ika. I'm here," he murmured.

Sabine buried her face in Ezra's shoulder. "Ezra," she managed to sob out. "It hurts."

He kissed the top of her head and rocked her gently. "I know, Sabine. I know. Just let it out. It helps. I promise," he whispered in a voice almost as haggard as hers. "Kanan would tell you to give the pain to the Force, if he was here."

Sabine clenched her hands on Ezra's shirt and tried to give the pain away, but she didn't know how. It was all just so built up in her. Years and years of holding it all in, culminating with the loss of her family, and it was just too much. All she could do was cry harder, which didn't seem possible, but she did.

Ezra desperately wished he could help her, more than just being there to hold her. He wanted to take her pain away. Make her feel better. Make everything right for her again. Turn back time even. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. So very very sorry," he whispered into her hair.

He didn't know how it happened but he was pretty sure he now had a mental bond with Sabine much like his with Kanan. He was feeling her much too clearly for it to be anything else. He was practically drowning in her grief. _Maybe because she'd decided to open her emotions to him earlier today?_

Not sure if she would hear him, but deciding to try it anyway, Ezra closed his eyes and pushed his thoughts into Sabine's mind, her despair leaving her naturally shielded mind more open than usual. "_Give me your pain_," he thought clearly. "_I can take care of it for you. Let me do this for you._"

Sabine nodded slightly against his chest and opened her mind wider, sending her pain to Ezra instinctively, because she trusted him to take care of it.

Ezra almost gasped as she opened the floodgates, but he breathed through it, deep and slow, and started siphoning it out into the Force like Kanan had taught him so many years ago, basically going into a meditative state to do it. He didn't know how long it took for Sabine's grief to slow down, but he dealt with it. When the last trickles of sorrow had been given to a better place, Ezra squeezed her a little tighter to his chest and kissed the top of head again. "_Are you feeling better now_?" he asked in her mind, not wanting to give up the deep connection that they'd established.

Sabine nodded again, scrubbing her face against his soft jacket, and suddenly noticing how hard his body was underneath of it. "Ummm hmmmm, thank you, Ez'ika."

Ezra smiled gently into her hair, loving the feel of the strands against his cheek. It was so silky and smelled like the sweetest of flowers with the permanent undertone of paint that clung to her. "_You're welcome_."

_This is nice. I like being on Ezra's lap. And his voice is so soothing. It's like melted butter in my mind._

_Wait. In my mind? He hasn't been talking out loud?_

_Now hold on just one nerfherding minute! _Sabine's eyes opened wide and she reared back in his arms. "Ezra Bridger, are you talking in my mind?!"

Ezra shrugged and one side of his mouth quirked up and he returned to talking out loud. "If I say yes, will you be angry?"

Sabine narrowed her eyes at him and thought about it. _It was a rather serious invasion of privacy, but on the other hand, he did help me feel better._ "I'll let you get away with it this time, Bridger. But you better not make a habit of that. My mind is my own."

Ezra smiled and pulled her closer again. "I know, Sabine. I would never dare to intrude unless it was important. This felt important."

Sabine relaxed against his chest again, finger tracing the line on his jacket where two different colours met across his collarbone and up his shoulder. "You're right. It was justified." She looked up at him, eyes taking in the line of his jaw from that angle. It looked very kissable all of a sudden. "I know you can do the whole Jedi Mind Trick thing, but I didn't know you could actually be telepathic with other people."

Ezra looked uncomfortable all of a sudden and his eyes no longer met hers. "I can't, not usually. Only to people I have a Force bond with, like Kanan."

_He and Kanan mind speak to each other? That explains a lot. No wonder they're so in sync with each other sometimes._

Sabine's eyes widened as she realized what else he was saying. "And me? You have a bond with me?" she asked very softly.

Ezra looked back at her, his brilliant blue eyes looking almost black in the dark. He nodded ever so slightly. "And you."

Sabine breathed in as she understood the implications of that. _They were BOUND. That's incredible. And thrilling. Ezra really is mine now._

Her arms crept up around his neck and her fingers rubbed against the short hairs at the back of his nape. She suddenly wished he'd grow his hair out again so she could play with it properly. (Not to mention the rich dark blue colour was nearly lost when it was this short.) "Ezra," she said softly, invitingly, raising her mouth towards his.

_Oh kriff. This is it. She wants me to kiss her for real. Don't panic. I can do this. Just touch her mouth with yours and try not to smash your nose into hers. Simple._

_Yeah right._

_Just do it, Bridger. Don't keep the warrior goddess waiting._

He took a deep breath and studied her, making sure she was one hundred percent on the same page that he was.

Her shining eyes and barely parted lips said she was.

Ezra's breath caught in his throat at how beautiful her pale face looked in the moonlight. "Sabine." He cupped one side of her face with his hand lovingly and bent down to press his mouth to hers in a featherlight, experimental kiss. The electricity that surged through him at the contact was heady and shot straight to his heart and he wanted it again.

_Force, her lips are soft. I could kiss her forever._

_Kriff, that was_ _nice,_ she thought as a faint shiver ran through her from head to toe._ Again, Ezra._

Their eyes met for a moment and then shuttered closed as their mouths pressed together again, fitting just right and whispering soft caresses. Sabine opened her mouth a little with a gasp at how amazing this felt and found herself the recipient of Ezra's questing tongue. She sucked on the tip, which made him groan, and soon they were dueling in the most passionate way that made her shake with need and move around on his lap so she was straddling him, wanting to get even closer and feel even more of her body pressed to his hard one. She found herself grinding against the hard length that was in just the right place now to stimulate her senses even more. Jolts of electricity shot through her with every slight movement of her hips.

When she felt like she was going to combust from the fire trying to take over her insides, Sabine pulled her mouth away from his and stared at him in shock, breathing in shallow gasps. "I had no idea it could be like that."

Ezra sucked in necessary air, the bare fingers of one hand buried in her silky hair and his other hand curled around her hip and basically holding her against his hardness. He THROBBED against her and he could swear he could feel her heat through their layers of clothes. It felt like he was about two seconds away from exploding then and there. He gulped as he realized he was holding her butt and was practically forcing her to rub against him. _Oops. Maybe a little too presumptuous for a first make out session, there, Bridger. I doubt she wants to know the precise dimensions of Little Ezra so soon. _

_Speaking of... Settle down, boy, before you strangle yourself to death. There's only so much room for you in there._

Ezra reluctantly forced his hand to move up a little higher to the curve of her waist. He gave her a bashful, crooked smile. "I didn't either. I think I lost all control."

Sabine smirked and wiggled just a little, deliberately teasing him, inspiring a pained groan that rose up from deep in his chest. _Oh kriff, let the strangulation commence._

"You're not the only one, babe," Sabine admitted coyly, biting her lower lip in the most sexy fashion that made his heart pound visibly in the pulse at his throat. She rubbed her chest against his, happy she wasn't wearing her armour plating, but wishing her bodysuit was a little less thick. _Is it too soon to start striping? That lightsabre in Ezra's trousers seems to think that's a fantastic idea. _"I think we need more practice. You wanna do it again?"

Ezra's eyes went wide before a predatory smile settled on his face. "Force, yes."

Sabine hummed a little in contentment as his mouth crashed down onto hers again. _How is he so good at kissing already? Not that I'm complaining. Most definitely not complaining. Kriff, do that swirly thing with your tongue again. That move goes straight to my core. Holy nerf. I'm claiming your tongue (and the rest of your more interesting body parts) as my property from now on. _

Choosing Ezra as her future husband was definitely not a mistake.


	7. Dreaming is For Sleeping

**Dreaming is For Sleeping:**

_The beach was beautiful; all white sand stretching down the coastline in either direction without interruption, tall, frothy shade trees in the jungle behind him, and a restless turquoise ocean that sent gentle waves across the sand in rhythmic pulses. _

_But it didn't compare to the female who was soaking in the life-giving rays of sunshine with breathy hums of pleasure as she lay on her stomach on a towel, head pillowed on her crossed arms. _

_"Stars, Kanan I needed this," Hera said on a happy groan, rolling over again with her arms outstretched to absorb every possible glimmer of light, turning her head to beam at him. "One more day on that miserable winter planet while we made repairs, waiting for the kids to get back with new parts for the Ghost, and I was going to shrivel up into a petrified ice cube."_

_Kanan chuckled from his own towel about a centimeter away from hers where he reclined on an elbow. He reached across the (miniscule) space between them and trailed a finger down a lek that was wriggling slightly with the pleasure she couldn't quite keep contained. It curled up at the end in response and Hera shot him a heated look that went straight to his groin. "You know I'd never let you freeze to death, darling. It's my mission in life to keep you hot and bothered at every available opportunity."_

_"Like now?" she asked, her plump lips quirking up in a knowing smirk. _

_Kanan blatantly raked his eyes down her luscious body covered only in a two piece, cream coloured swimsuit that hugged her most interesting bits lovingly, matched the markings on her lekku, and left little to the imagination. "Yes, definitely like now," he growled out huskily. "I've been waiting for you to finish toasting so I can have my wicked way with you." He inhaled deeply through his nose, sucking in her warm scent like it was worth more than oxygen. "Are you done toasting, my beautiful green marshmallow?"_

_Hera trailed a finger down his bare chest teasingly, her blunt nail doing crazy things to his insides as it tickled his skin and stimulated the fine hairs. Her hand came to a stop right above the waistband of his dark green trunks and traced a circle around his navel as she glanced at him from under heavy lidded eyes, her lashes casting shadows on her elegant cheekbones. "Perhaps," she whispered alluringly. _

_And then she rolled back over onto her stomach and pretended to go to sleep. _

_Kanan growled, literally growled. Like an animal. "Oh, you little tease." In retaliation, he dug his fingertips into her ribs on either side and proceeded to tickle her into paroxysms of giggling laughter. _

_"Kaan… naaan!" she protested half-heartedly. Hera wheezed and wiggled and gasped on sobs of laughter, trying to get away, ending up in the glistening sand, but Kanan was relentless. He straddled her thighs and refused to let her escape his torture. His mouth joined the fun as he leaned over her and tickled her neck and the sensitive bases of her lekku with his beard and feathering lips. _

_"Now... You're... Just... Playing... Dirty..." Hera complained between giggles. _

_Kanan pressed down into her, sliding his hands up her sides and cupping her breasts, rubbing his aching length into the crevice of her cushiony buttocks. "That's the idea, sweetness," he whispered into her earcone. "Is it working?" _

_"Hmmmmmm," his feisty twi'lek purred as she arched her back and rubbed her ass into him enticingly. "It might be." _

_Kanan groaned as her lekku slithered up his arms in a dual caress and then locked behind his neck. She knew very well how much that drove him crazy with desire. "Herraaaa." His mouth was soon locked onto her succulent neck, licking and sucking on her throbbing pulse as he rubbed against the softest part of her in a nearly mindless haze and his fingers squeezed the bounty in his hands._

_"Unnnnn, Kanaaaaan," she panted. "Let me turn over. I want to kiss you."_

_Liking that idea very much, he dug his hands and knees into the sand and gave her space to turn underneath of him. Hera's smile was a brilliant show of glowing eyes, soft lips, and white teeth as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her lekku fell down into the sand. "Come here, my sexy Jedi Knight," she murmured in that sultry voice that inspired new levels of commitment from his already aroused cock. _

_"Yes, Captain," he practically grunted back as he all but fell back onto her pliant body, his length finding a perfect haven in the hot vee of her thighs and his tongue an equally perfect haven in the sweetness of her mouth. _

_As he kissed his mate like he'd never get another opportunity to do so, Kanan wished for their swimsuits to disappear, and because it was a dream, they did. _

_The head of his weeping cock made instant contact with her drenched core and just like that, he was surging inside. He tore his mouth away from hers to grunt in bliss as she cried out his name yet again. _

_"So perfect," he praised before setting into a steady rhythm of deep thrusts that bottomed out with every surge of his hips. _

_Hera gave the sweetest little gasps in time with his movements, her hands buried in his long hair as she held on for the ride, and her strong legs wrapped around his own. Their eyes locked together, turquoise meeting emerald and made silent declarations of love. _

_Nearly undone with how beautiful she was and how perfect she felt under and around him, Kanan lowered his lips to hers again for another passionate kiss that matched the activity further south in perfect harmony. _

_"Love you forever, Hera," he whisper/gasped as his arms tightened under her back and drew her even closer to his heart._

In the way that always seemed to happen when his dreams were just getting to the good part, Kanan woke up in the real world of never-ending darkness. His chest clenched with sorrow as the vivid colour of his imagination faded away like fluffy clouds on a windy day.

He also happened to be sporting a raging hard-on and a pounding heart as the last of his dream of Hera and him doing very un Jedi like things faded from the forefront of his mind. Knowing there were others present, he reflexively squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists for a minute until he had the presence of mind to initiate his meditative breathing techniques to regain control of his thrumming body. _Force, what I wouldn't give to be alone right now._

_Or even better, on the Ghost with Hera, where I belong. _

After breathing through it for a minute or two, not willing to give in to the temptation to take care of the problem with others in the tent, their steady breaths like a bellows to his sensitive hearing, Kanan eventually realized he was feeling more than his own passion.

He also realized that there wasn't enough people breathing around him. Calling on his Force sight, it only took him a second to figure out which two people were missing from the tent.

Thunking his head against the pillow, he suppressed the urge to groan in embarrassed horror, understanding that a great deal of the current problem in his pants that was refusing to go away didn't actually stem from his own emotions. At least, not any longer.

Although, in all fairness, this was exactly how he and Ezra had discovered they had a bond in the first place. Years ago, Ezra had come knocking on Hera's door while they were getting frisky, and asked if it was normal that he could basically feel everything Kanan was. Hera had literally freaked out and banned Kanan from her room and there were no more frisky moments between him and Hera until he and Ezra learned how to shield.

Right now, Ezra had completely forgotten his shields and Kanan wasn't impressed. He didn't begrudge the kids their fun, since that would make him the galaxy's biggest hypocrite. _But kriff, this wasn't how I wanted to find out they had moved on to the kissing and petting stage._

Throwing politeness to the wind, Kanan thought very loudly and very clearly, _"EZRA! Put up your fragging shields!"_

Kanan sighed with relief when, a moment later, the sensations of Ezra's lust came to a full stop and he felt a massive wave of embarrassed remorse from his Padawan. _"I'm so sorry, Kanan!" _came through loud and clear and then his sense of Ezra became little more than a tiny blinking dot at the back of his mind, indicating the boy was still alive. Kanan never even had a chance to reply that it wasn't that big a deal as long as it didn't happen every day. _I'll tell him later._ Kanan then closed his own shields down to the barest minimum. He couldn't make himself close them all the way, just in case Ezra needed him, but he could make it so Ezra would have to mentally shout to be heard.

He also had to wince at the realization that Ezra might have felt some of the runoff from Kanan's rather erotic dream and been influenced by it. Sleep was a tricky thing; they could go to sleep with their shields up, but that didn't mean they would stay up.

"Kriff," he muttered into the dark, his only consolation that he was once again the master of all of his body parts, even the most wayward ones.

Fenn's eyes popped open, body on alert again. "What's wrong?" he whispered urgently to the Jedi Knight who'd sounded rather distraught.

Kanan focused two cots over, past the still dormant signature of Alrich. "Nothing," he whispered back.

Fenn scoffed quietly. "That didn't sound like nothing. Does it have anything to do with our missing young people?"

Kanan chuckled in the depths of his throat, shaking his head. "Noticed that, did you?"

Fenn smirked at the shadowy blob of Kanan. "Of course. I happened to be the only one who noticed when they both left. For a Jedi, I thought you'd be more aware of the goings on of your charges," he teased in a deep whisper.

Kanan snorted under his breath. "I don't claim any responsibility for what they get up to anymore. They're both adults now. They can do whatever they want to each other."

Fenn laughed softly. _Something tells me that Kanan knows exactly what the teenagers are doing right now and he's not happy about it. _"That still doesn't explain how I was the only one who noticed when they left. I would have assumed that you'd be just as attuned to your surroundings as I was. More so, even."

Kanan couldn't help the heat that covered his cheeks, hoping with every atom of his being that it was too dark for Fenn to see him clearly. "Normally, you're right, I would have woken when they left, but I happened to be having a rather exquisite dream about Hera, and my subconscious sometimes forgets to pay attention to the rest of the world when that happens," he admitted.

_Did Kanan just admit to having a sex dream?! The steadfast Jedi Knight who now radiates control and calm at all times like a bloody monk? (Except when Hera's around, that is.) _Fenn had to stop himself from bellowing with guffaws of laughter so he wouldn't wake up Alrich, who was proving to be able to sleep through quite a lot of racket, his sonorous snores still echoing through the tent in a steady pattern of inhales and exhales. Instead, Fenn scrubbed a hand over his face to stifle it, noticing he was overdue for a shave. He very calmly whispered, "I see. I doubt there are many men who are capable of paying attention to their surroundings when a gorgeous Twi'lek is doing 'things' to them, dreamland or not." He couldn't help teasing Kanan. He doubted even a blaster to his head would have stopped him from teasing the Jedi.

Kanan huffed, giving the other man a squinty eyed look that he didn't care if Fenn could see or not. (It was the thought that counted.) He grabbed a boot from beside his cot and chucked it with perfect aim at the Mandalorian's head. "Hey!" he hissed. "That's my gorgeous Twi'lek, frag you very much, so you just keep your imaginings on other people. Like Countess Kryze."

Fenn raised an arm and deflected the object hurling at his face just in time. With lightning reflexes he caught the boot before it could fall all the way to the ground and then chucked it right back. Refusing to rise to the bait, Fenn continued his taunting. "Someone's grumpy. Dream interrupted before it got to the good part?"

Kanan caught his boot in midair and seriously thought about throwing it again; this time with three times as much force, but he flashbacked to a memory of a similar situation from when he was a youngling, and his arm froze.

_Their camp was in chaos. Or maybe an all out war would be a better description as a dozen objects of various descriptions from boots to pinecones to pillows hurtled back and forth over the central fire that sputtered in the night. _

_The class of younglings, eight years old, taken away from the Temple for the first time to experience how the galaxy wasn't just one big city, had let the fresh, clean air of Kashyyyk go to their heads. They were supposed to be sleeping, but one of the moons was full and it was shining brightly directly down on them in their clearing and they'd been whispering back and forth across the fire for hours, way too excited to sleep. _

_And then the inappropriately named Somme, an Iridonian male who had arrived late to the Temple as a five year old and was anything but tranquil, even on a good day, made the snide comment, "I bet the reason Master Fisto hasn't come out to scold us yet is because he's too busy getting a 'tentacle' rub from the freshly Knighted Secura."_

_The girls had gasped in horror at Somme's crude suggestion while most of the boys had sniggered at whatever mental images they came up with, as if they had a clue as to what they were sniggering at. _

_Kanan, then known as Caleb, was appalled by the suggestion and had thrown a boot at the other boy. "That's disgusting, Somme. Just before dinner, I overheard Master Fisto offer Knight Secura a lesson in meditation that she'd likely missed from her own Master since Master Vos is not known for being the most dedicated of Jedi in terms of the traditional lessons. They're probably just deep in the Force right now and not aware of us."_

_Somme laughed mockingly, throwing Caleb's boot back with more enthusiasm than necessary. Caleb just barely dodged it. "You're so naïve, Caleb. All of you are." The orange and black striped boy had stared pointedly at the big tent that was only a stone's throw from the campfire as if willing it to make some sort of sound to back up his words. "Trust me; they're getting it on in there."_

_One of the girls threw her pillow at Somme. "You take that back."_

_And then another pillow went flying. "Yeah. Take it back. Master Fisto is a good Jedi."_

_Somme used the Force to stop the pillows in midair and push them back towards their owners. "Make me."_

_And just like that, pillows were flying everywhere and the question of what their two adult teachers were doing in the tent was forgotten._

_Within minutes, the children were laughing harder than they ever had in their lives, unaccustomed to such freedom of play. _

_When they finally exhausted themselves, they cleaned up the mess they made in moments, suddenly terrified of getting caught. _

_And then they all fell into deep, dreamless sleep, lips curled up into secret expressions of joy._

_The next morning, at the crack of dawn, Master Fisto emerged from his tent, a calm and composed Aayla Secura on his heels and then walking off in the direction of their ship. The ageless Nautolan male surveyed the area and the younglings as they quickly lined up in front of him. His all-knowing, massive black eyes blinked once, and then he gave them a hint of a smile. "I trust you all slept well after your activity of last night?"_

_Caleb sucked in a breath along with his companions. _He knew! How much trouble were they going to be in?

_As a group, they all reluctantly nodded their heads, not saying a word. _

_Master Fisto smiled wider. "Excellent. That means you will be well rested and well practiced for this morning's exercise of Hide and Catch the Youngling." He pinned Somme in his wide gaze. "And you, Somme, will be the first one that is 'it'. I trust you will be well practiced at dodging or catching the paint balls thrown at you."_

_Somme nodded with wide orange eyes, knowing he'd been targeted first for a reason. "Yes, Master."_

_Master Fisto nodded towards the surrounding woods as Secura pushed a crate full of small training orbs filled with paint up to the group. "Good. You will have one minute to hide before we will come to catch you. Do not get hit by a ball. Collect what you can for they will be your ammunition in future rounds. Understood?"_

_Somme nodded again. _

_Fisto smiled widely. "And… Go."_

_Somme took off like a shot. _

_Fisto indicated the rest of the younglings should fill their pockets and belt pouches with the small metallic orbs. They scrambled to do so as he continued speaking. "And the rest of you; never be afraid to enjoy every experience you are given to the fullest because no matter what impressions you are given at the Temple, life is meant to be lived, not endured."_

_Caleb and the others beamed at the Master, understanding that their play of the night before would never be punished. "Yes, Master Fisto," they said in practiced chorus. _

_He smiled warmly back, then winked. "Now go. Catch Somme. If you can."_

_They ran, laughing, into the forest. _

Kanan found himself smiling widely at the memory that he'd forgotten until that moment, lost in a haze of war that had overshadowed his younger years. He felt freer than he ever had, as if Master Fisto had just endorsed his relationship with Hera; for that was what Kanan was doing. He was living his life with the most possible joy he could scrape from it.

Another thought struck him as well.

_What WERE Masters Fisto and Secura doing in that tent all night long? Could they possibly have been in a secret relationship? I do remember seeing them together a lot. Wow. Just wow. What I wouldn't give to go back in time and ask him now._

Kanan set his boot down on the floor gently and finally answered Fenn, who'd come to the conclusion that Kanan wasn't going to answer at all. "Actually, no, my dream wasn't interrupted before the good part," he said softly. "Because every moment I spend in my sleep with Hera is a blessing because I can see her there. And every moment I get with her in real life is even more special because the person I used to be when she found me didn't deserve her. Hera is the only reason I'm still alive and functional. The only reason I'm not old before my time from overuse of drugs, alcohol and too many sketchy women. The only reason I didn't give up again when I first lost my sight. I owe her everything. She IS my everything."

Fenn actually felt himself choke up a little at the Jedi's confession. _That is so incredibly sad. _"I wish there was some way to restore your vision," Fenn said back on a humble whisper.

Kanan sighed. "I've wished that many times, myself, Fenn. Many many times. But dreaming is for sleeping and real life is for living, so I choose to live the life I have to the fullest."

"Kriff, that's deepest thing I've ever heard," Fenn said, taking the words to heart. _Now I just need to convince Bo to live the rest of her life with me to the fullest. _

_No biggie._

* * *

Ezra was drowning in Sabine.

He was overwhelmed by her sweet taste. Her scent of flowers and paint. The feel of her weight on him. The feel of her slender curves under his hands that had lost the ability to stay still. The way she moaned and hummed her pleasure in tiny sounds in her throat as he worshipped her cute little ears and neck with his lips and teeth and tongue, careful of the small bandage on one side.

When he did manage to open his eyes, he drowned in the sight of her passion filled features, so exotically beautiful. The skin of her face was exquisitely soft, making a mockery of his own somewhat stubbled and scar covered one. Her eyebrows arched just so over the amber eyes he'd never get tired of looking into. Her cheekbones were high and well defined in her delicate face, a flush of pleasure colouring them, even in the dark. Her nose was adorable. Her chin and jawline, proud and pointed. Her lips were the perfect pillows for his own, parted right now as she gasped in air.

Somehow, he was managing to maintain enough control over his flaming body to keep from shooting off in his underwear, but he wasn't sure how.

Sabine could barely think, Ezra was doing such a good job turning her brain to mush. Who knew her neck was so sensitive? Or her ears? And her clit was practically singing from all the grinding she'd been doing against the large bulge in his pants. She loved the fire he brought to life in her and wanted more, so much more.

Deciding that he needed to feel this too, Sabine grabbed the sides of his face, since he didn't have enough hair to hang on to, and pulled his mouth away from her neck and plastered her lips to his in another mind blowing kiss. She had the passing thought that they'd wasted a lot of kissing time over the last four years, but it quickly flittered away.

Putting her hands on his shoulders, she pushed his back down to the ground so she was completely perched over him and in control. "You're mine, Ez'ika," she said teasingly.

_Of course I am, _Ezra thought in dazed acceptance. She looked like a goddess with the moonlight outlining her face and figure. "I always have been," he murmured, smiling with a flash of white in the dark. “No one before you and certainly never anyone after you. I’ll love you until the end of this life and into the next.”

_Haar’chak, Ezra, you’re killing me. How am I supposed to respond to that? This is all so new for me. _He reached up a hand and pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear in a gentle caress that sent another shiver through her. _Frag it, I’ll just show him how I feel. _And so she smiled at him with a predatory baring of teeth before she swooped down and pressed her mouth to his neck just like he'd been doing to her a couple minutes before.

Ezra's eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head. _No wonder she'd been making little pleasure noises. This was GOOD. Bite my neck as much as you want._ "Sabiiiinnnneee," he moaned.

In response, one of her hands snaked down his chest and then back up again, but this time under his t-shirt. Ezra sucked in his breath at the feel of her little hand on his bare skin and almost forgot to let it out again. Every exploratory sweep of her hand left him feeling more lightheaded than the last as even more blood travelled south and stayed there. He was literally going to combust from the delicious torture and he never wanted it to stop.

_Oooooooo, hard. Me likey. _Sabine couldn't help but be impressed by the toned muscles she was feeling. There wasn't an ounce of fat on him. His skin was smooth and soft over a layer of durasteel in a complete contradiction of sensations. His abs and ribs were like little waves below the gentle hills of his pectorals. _And this is his teenage body. His mature male body is probably going to blow my mind. _After teasingly skimming over his tiny little nipples, her hand came to rest over his heart, feeling it pound under her palm. She found that incredibly intimate and thrilling, her core seeming to pulse in time with his heart. She nipped his ear and then kissed a path down the slightly rough texture of his jawline and returned to kissing, delving her tongue in his mouth once again, yet another little moan escaping her throat at the raw pleasure of the carnal act.

All he could do was groan back, tangling his tongue with hers. _Never wanna stop. Kiss her forever. Love. Love. Love. _

_"EZRA! Put up your fragging shields!"_ a thought that wasn’t his own blasted into Ezra’s mind.

_Oh frag, karabast, and shabla! _Totally freaking out, Ezra pushed Sabine back as his eyes popped open, and he gulped in horror _"I'm so sorry, Kanan,"_ he thought back, then slammed his shields closed between him and Kanan, completely mortified.

But that also closed him off from Sabine. Ezra gulped in air as his sense of her disappeared. But even without his link to her emotions, it didn’t take a genius to comprehend the wounded look on her face. _Shit. Why can’t I ever do anything right?_

Sabine stared down at Ezra in befuddled hurt_. Did I do something offensive? Is it possible to be too aggressive with a tongue? Maybe his Jedi conscience just kicked in? No. It was probably me._ "What's wrong? What did I do?"

The disappointment on her expressive face was killing him. Ezra sat up quickly, pushing her back so she sat on his thighs and away from his rapidly deflating erection. He hugged her and kissed her forehead in apology, his passionate mood lost to the flaming embarrassment. "It's not you, I swear. You were perfect. It's me. I forgot to keep my shields up between me and Kanan and he just yelled at me, clearly aware of what we were doing."

Sabine blinked a couple times and then her own cheeks burst with heat as well. Her frisky mood shrank down like someone had just thrown a bucket of ice on her. Unfortunately, she still had the damp underwear to remind her of how close she'd been to climaxing just from the friction of rubbing against him. "Oh, kriff, that's embarrassing."

Ezra buried his face in her shoulder. "I know, right?" he mumbled into her bodysuit.

Sabine sighed and wrapped her arms around his back, putting her forehead on his shoulder in return. "Oh well. Just imagine it as repayment for all the times we've stumbled upon Kanan and Hera making out," she muttered against his jacket.

Ezra's head popped up as he chuckled. He kissed her hair before encouraging her to look up at him with a finger under her chin. "You mean like the time Zeb and I practically fell on them in the cargo hold when we were chasing Chopper?"

Sabine laughed. "Which time?”

Ezra smirked. “The day we stole that TIE fighter, years ago.”

“I remember that day. You still have the painting I made in your room." This had always pleased her.

Ezra grinned bashfully. "And I always will. Or at least as long as Hera let’s me call that room my own, despite the fact that I have my own ship now. I don't care how stupid it makes me look. You painted it, so it's staying. I’ve had a lot of battles with Zeb over it, by the way. Captain Smelly thinks we should have painted over it years ago. I threatened to sic Chopper on him if he so much as dared cover a corner. Once, I even had to hold his bo-rifle hostage." Ezra's mouth curled ruefully. “He didn’t like that very much, and didn’t talk to me for a week, but it was worth it. Keeping any sort of connection to you is worth it; even living with a sulking, hulking, molting, purple Lasat.”

_Thank the Manda I didn’t have to share a room with a Lasat. _Sabine snorted in amusement, beaming at him, and kissed his cheek, letting her lips linger, whispering against it, "You keep saying things like that, Bridger, and I might just have to fall in love with you." Her tone was light and teasing, but Sabine could feel the truth of her own words in her heart. She really was falling in love with him. Maybe she was already there. Maybe she'd been there for years and just refused to see it.

_What did she just say?! _Ezra lost his breath once again. He pulled back a little as he studied her face. "Do you really mean that?" he asked quietly. Hopefully. Nearly begging, in fact.

Seeing his open expression that looked so incredibly vulnerable right now, Sabine knew she could never break his heart. She cupped his face in her hands, fingers resting on the sexy dual scars on his cheek, and met his eyes, willing him to feel her sincerity. "Yes, Ez'ika. I do mean it. You're my everything too."

_Thank the Force. _Ezra gulped and worked up the courage to say what had wanted to tumble off his tongue for years. He raised his hands and cupped her face in return. "I love you, Sabine. I have since the first day I met you. I saw you blow up a bike right under the noses of the Imps. You jumped off a roof onto a moving bike like it was nothing. You didn't shoot me when you could have. You literally picked me up and tossed me out of your chair. You blew up some TIEs like it was fun. You were relatively nice to me compared to most people who encounter a streetrat. And of course, there was how beautiful you are, but that’s just the icing on the puffcake. By the end of that first day, I loved your colourful hair. I loved your big amber eyes. I loved your feisty spirit. I loved your warrior heart. I love you. With everything I am; heart, body, soul, and mind. Even my connection with the Force loves you, letting me bond with you. You are perfection. To me at least. There is NOTHING you could do that would make me stop loving you, do you hear me?" He willed her to understand that he didn’t blame her for the deaths her invention had caused, something that he’d sensed earlier that she needed more confirmation on. 

_Oh, stars, Ezra. _Sabine gawked and blinked at the boy who’d just taken her shattered heart and glued it back together even stronger than before. That was an incredible speech, and she'd never felt more like she was actually worth something in her life. She felt special because she understood now that Ezra thought she was. Looking at herself through his eyes helped heal a broken piece inside of her that her mother had caused when she was banished from the clan all those years ago. His words healed the piece of her that had been fractured when Ketsu abandoned her. His love restored the faith in herself that had been lost when the Duchess was used again against her family.

His words were exactly what she needed and she nearly burst into tears all over again because of them. She swallowed the urge back with difficulty and somehow managed to speak past the lump in her throat. “I do hear you, Ezra. I do.” With every ounce of the ever-growing love in her heart, she pressed her mouth to his in a very gentle kiss that expressed everything she was feeling. Gratitude. Love. Acceptance. Need. Want. Home. “Thank you,” she whispered against his lips, and then she pressed her forehead to his and they just breathed together, no more words needed between them.

Ezra didn't need his new bond with her to feel how much she loved him too, she was radiating it so clearly into the Force for anyone to sense, and he was humbled by it. And so grateful that she was letting him see her vulnerable side because it meant that she trusted him implicitly. He pressed a very loving kiss to her forehead, sighing in contentment as he moved his arms around her back to hug her closer. She copied him, the strong grip of her arms feeling like the most secure place in the galaxy to be.

They sat like that for a while, wrapped around each other, their heads eventually finding a comfy place on the other's shoulder. Soon enough, Sabine's breathing settled into a deep and slow pattern that indicated she'd fallen asleep.

Knowing that she needed her rest, Ezra didn't move for a long time. Not even when more arriving ships flew past or when a cold breeze picked up. He just ignored it all, pulling a little Force to him to warm them up as needed. He basked in her presence in his arms, having thought for years that this moment would never happen. At some point, his legs fell asleep, but he didn't care about that either. Sabine was all that mattered.

Ezra eventually fell into something that resembled a meditative trance, the Force swirling happily around and through him. He used the time to figure out how to separate his shields so he could feel Sabine and not Kanan, or vice versa, or both, in varying degrees. He knew it was possible, because Kanan had a bond with Hera too, so Ezra set to work with determination and started very carefully experimenting.

* * *

As the moon drew near to setting in the distant horizon, Ezra felt Kanan approaching, but he still didn't move. At this point, he wasn’t even sure he could.

A minute later, his Master appeared out of the gloom. He stopped and looked down at them with a raised brow, amusement and something that felt a lot like pride and approval in their bond for him to feel. Ezra still flushed with embarrassment anyway. _“Hi.”_

_“You look comfy.” _Kanan teased.

Ezra snorted mentally. _“One would think. But you try putting a hundred pounds on your thighs for an hour and let me know if you can still feel your toes at the end of it.”_

Kanan’s mouth twitched and a strangled laugh could just be heard. _“Want some help?”_

_“Please.”_

He knelt down beside them and very carefully extracted Sabine from Ezra's arms, standing and holding her small form in his while Ezra grimaced through the process of rubbing circulation back into his legs. _Force. Kriff. Ow. Ow. Ow. _The tingling was awful, but Ezra breathed through it while Kanan did a valiant job of not laughing out loud. Mentally though…

Ezra glared at him.

_“Was it worth it?” _the bearded man laughed.

_“That’s a stupid question. Of course she’s worth a little pain.”_

_“Then get your shebs off the ground, as Rex would say, and let’s roll. The meeting starts in twenty minutes.”_

_“I’m moving, I’m moving,” _Ezra grumbled, but gave it a few more seconds anyway. 

Once the blood flow had been restored to his feet and he could wiggle his toes inside his boots again, the boy felt confident he could stand without promptly falling right back down. Sucking in a deep breath, he got to his feet in a less than graceful, but successful move. _Ha._

Ezra took Sabine back, cuddling her against his chest. She hummed happily in her sleep, wrapping her arms around his neck and snuggling back into his shoulder.

Kanan chuckled mentally again as they started walking. _“Well, we know who she prefers in her sleep.”_

Ezra grinned like a dork. _“Mine. She loves me, Kanan.”_ Ezra kissed the silky hair on top of her head adoringly.

_“I know. I’m very happy for the two of you. Treasure her. Love her. But never become dependent on her because you must always be ready to let her go if the Force wills it.”_

Ezra nodded once in resignation. _“I know. We’ve already had this discussion about our views on attachments. I understand that my duty is to the Force first and my loved ones second. But that doesn’t stop me from loving you all with everything I have.”_

Kanan smiled a little mistily. He reached over squeezed Ezra’s shoulder fondly. “_Love you too, kid. I remembered something a little while ago that made me think we weren’t the only Jedi with more liberal views on the ‘no attachments’ rule.”_

_“What’s that?” _Ezra asked curiously as Sabine rubbed her face into his neck and made a tiny little sound that was almost a purr. He wanted to hear it some more. Preferably when they were alone. 

_“Master Fisto once said to me and a group of other younglings, ‘Never be afraid to enjoy every experience you are given to the fullest because no matter what impressions you are given at the Temple. Life is meant to be lived, not endured.’”_

_“Wow. I like that one.”_

_“Yeah. Me too. Even though I forgot his words for decades, I think my subconscious didn’t because I’ve never had a problem with changing the ‘no attachment’ rule to better suit how we live now.” _

_“I think our method works just fine. We know our duty, but we live and love. How hard is that?”_

Kanan grinned down at him, his face still annoyingly mostly hidden by his dark green jaig eye mask, but his mouth could express so much, it didn’t even bother Ezra all that much anymore. _“Exactly. Most of the old Jedi Masters were a bunch of stuffy old idiots.”_

Ezra snorted with amusement, prompting a stirring from the girl in his arms. _Oops. Oh well, we’re almost there anyway. She should probably wake up._

He looked down at her sleepily blinking face and then up to his Master, walking quietly beside him, their bonds humming softly in his soul. _My family. Not all of them, but the ones I love and need the most, no question. _Ezra was incredibly content in that moment, and he would file it away as one to treasure forever.

* * *

**A/N: The title of this chapter was inspired by Hedley's song, 'Dreaming's For Sleeping'.**


	8. Visions and Loyalty

**Visions and Loyalty:**

Sabine woke up gradually to the sensation of smooth movement, feeling very safe and loved. It was a feeling she had rarely ever felt, bringing back vague memories from her early childhood of being carried to bed by her father after he had let her stay up way too late painting with him.

Her eyes fluttered open as her arms tightened reflexively around Ezra's neck and she realized she actually was being carried. _Ever stronger than I thought, if he can carry me so effortlessly. He's not breathing hard or anything._ She had to admit it felt incredibly nice, but it wasn't in her nature to be carried anywhere. "Ezra," she murmured.

He glanced down at her and his teeth flashed in the dark as he smiled at her. "Down?"

Sabine nodded slightly, rubbing her cheek against his jacket just because. _Soft over hard. Yum. But later._ "This is nice and all, but I have legs and they work just fine."

Ezra chuckled lightly and so did Kanan, which made Sabine tense, because she hadn't realized they weren't alone. She craned her neck around, seeing the older Jedi walking beside Ezra on her blind side, and her cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment. _Curse him and his silent Jedi feet_. Now she really wanted down. "Ezra," she said warningly as she wiggled and his arms held her tighter teasingly.

_I can't help myself. I really can't. _Ezra's eyes shone with mirth as he came to a stop, swooped down and kissed her warm cheek and then let her down. Slowly. Sliding her down his front as much as possible.

Sabine gave him her best glare, which just made him smile wider. _Come on, you like it, admit it._

Her glare somehow intensified. _Or not. _

Ezra looked at Kanan. "You let a girl sit on you for hours till your legs go to sleep and then you carry her for a kilometre or two and this is the thanks you get?"

Kanan shrugged, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Females. There's just no pleasing them sometimes. Get used to it."

Sabine huffed at the two males who where blatantly making fun of her while she stood right there. "Di'kute," she muttered and started marching in the direction of the camp that was much closer than before. Actually, it was close enough that the guard probably could have seen her being carried like a child. That just wasn't acceptable at all. _Thank_ _the Force I woke up_. She was going to have to talk to Ezra about making sure her status as a badass was never questioned. A warrior Countess does NOT get carried unless they were unconscious and had two broken legs.

She called back over her shoulder at the men who were chuckling over her stomping figure. "Don't think I won't tell Hera what you just said, Kanan Jarrus. I'm sure she won't appreciate it. And Ezra, if you think there's going to be any more cuddling in the near future, you might want to hold your breath waiting for it." The chuckling came to an immediate end, making Sabine smirk to herself.

_Ach! What have I done? _Ezra jogged to catch up, then matched his strides to hers. His eyes were wide in fear and remorse as he gazed at her. "Please don't say that. I was just teasing. I've waited forever for cuddling privileges; you wouldn't take them away already, would you?"

Sabine glanced at him and her lips twitched before she snorted with suppressed laughter. _He actually believed me. He's already better trained than I thought._ Taking pity on him, she laced her fingers with his and squeezed lightly. "Ezra, you're not the only one who can tease, you know."

He blinked a couple times and then he looked vastly relieved, shaking his head at himself. "I can't believe I fell for that."

Sabine grinned. "I can."

Kanan grinned at Sabine as he appeared on Ezra's other side. "So can I."

Sabine smiled at her second father conspiratorially. "He is incredibly gullible, isn't he?" She ignored Ezra's, 'Hey!' and continued talking to Kanan. "But I wasn't kidding about telling Hera. Us girls have to stick together when it comes to keeping the menfolk in line."

Now Ezra and Kanan both said, "Hey!"

Sabine grinned at them, let go of Ezra's hand, and marched up to and past the guard like she owned the world, happy she couldn't see his face to know if he was smirking at her or not. If he was smart though, he'd keep quiet about seeing her being carried. She memorized the markings on his armour just in case rumours started flying around the camp about her so she knew who to beat up for it.

After a quick stop at the portable refresher facilities, she walked briskly to their borrowed tent, attached her armour and strapped on her second belt.

Ezra more or less followed Sabine, but Kanan broke off to join Fenn and Alrich when he spotted them.

The young Jedi waited just inside the doorway of their tent while he watched Sabine finish getting dressed in less than a minute flat with practiced ease. Even this simple act turned him on. _Who am I kidding? Just watching her breathe turns me on._ He was envisioning her doing the opposite of adding layers when she walked up to him with a raised brow, her helmet tucked under her arm.

"What's got that look in your eyes this time?" Sabine asked with a knowing smirk, noting his slightly increased inhalations and the hint of dilation in his pupils.

Ezra snaked an arm around her waist and kissed her nose playfully. "Just picturing you removing your armour instead."

She rested her hand against his chest, laughing softly as she looked up at him with amused eyes. "And everything else as well?" She deliberately leaned her hips into his and wasn't surprised at all to feel the bulge in his trousers twitch against her. _Later for that too, big boy. _

He grinned even as he flushed, pupils expanding further. _Tease. _"Oh yeah." He swooped down and stole her mouth in a brief but very thorough kiss that had her purring again.

When he pulled back, Ezra was pleased to see her eyes had gone much darker than normal. _At least I'm not alone in my misery now. _He swept an arm towards the door. "Shall we get this over with?"

Sabine took a deep breath to control her suddenly raging hormones and then inclined her head regally. "We shall." She swept out of the tent with squared shoulders and a bounce to her step.

Ezra smiled to himself as he bounded after her, catching her free hand with his own and lacing their fingers together, grateful there was no one around to see his flustered state.

Sabine looked down at their joined hands, and then smiled up at him. _Kriff it. I don't care if people see that I'm with him. They can all go take a leap out of an airlock if they don't like my adorable, loyal, and handsome Jedi. _

They walked to the command tent in companionable silence, not exactly in a hurry as they kept glancing at each other and smiling dopily.

* * *

_Alrich rushed through the halls of their Krownest stronghold, excitement making his heart pound in his chest. He practically bounced down the steps to the training gym in the basement and then slid to a stop once he was in sight of the clan who were all in the midst of their morning workout. _

_ "Ursa!" he cried, spotting his wife sparring with Tristan. _

_ She, and every other warrior in the gym, came to a sudden stop and looked at him. "Are they here?" _

_ Alrich nodded quickly, beaming. "They are! Come on!" _

_ Ursa smiled and tossed her staff to Tristan who hung them both up on the wall and then followed her. "Finally," she said as she made an attempt at walking calmly up to Alrich, but the extra energy in her stride was clear for all to see. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back up the stairs. "I was starting to think that Sabine was deliberately making me wait weeks to see our grandchild." _

_ Alrich was in full agreement with the statement. The little Wren-Bridger had been born nearly twelve days ago; Sabine was definitely taking her time coming home to show off the new addition to the Wren dynasty. _

_ Alrich and Ursa stopped once they made it outside to the front deck, waiting for the couple already walking through the snow to reach them. Tristan quietly slid into a spot on Alrich's other side, smiling just as widely as his parents. _

_ Alrich turned his head and drank in his wife's joyful features, still just as beautiful as when he'd met her as a teenager, the tiny lines at the corners of her eyes and the grey in her pitch black hair making her more interesting, not less. _

_ Then he looked the other way and cast his eyes upwards to his son who topped him by more than a head, huge and confident in appearance. He could never be called a boy again, not now that he'd reached the grand old age of twenty-one just a few days ago. Tristan wore the mantle of Heir well. Ursa was even considering stepping down soon, so that she could relax for the last third of her life. _

_ Alrich was all for it. Let the young ones do the hard work. _

_ He then turned his gaze to his daughter. He hadn't seen her in a couple months, so he wasn't surprised that she'd changed her hair again. The long teal and pink hair was gathered up in a tail on top of her head with side swept bangs that almost covered one eye, as usual. Her arm was linked through Ezra's and they glanced at each other lovingly, also like usual. _

_ The young man had filled out over the years into something that looked practically warrior like, much to Ursa's relief. And he'd let his dark blue hair grow down to his shoulders in shaggy waves, at Sabine's wishes. For the current occasion, he'd restrained it back much like Kanan used to. In Ezra's other hand, he carefully cradled a little bundle in the crook of his arm. _

_ They walked up the steps and stopped in front of Alrich. After giving Ezra a brief but warm nod of greeting, he smiled at his daughter. "Sabine." _

_ "Father," she replied, eyes warm, stepping forward to give him a hug. Then she moved on to Ursa. "Mother." Ursa hugged their daughter back, smiling over her shoulder at Alrich. It was beyond nice to see their relationship restored to the same easy love they had when Sabine was just a child. It had taken years, but the two likeminded females had finally come to an understanding. Sabine then moved back over to Tristan and gave him a friendly punch in the shoulder in greeting. "Tristan." _

_ "Sabine." _

_ "Keeping out of trouble?" _

_ Tristan chuckled. "Maybe." _

_ "Find a girl yet?" _

_ "Maybe," he said evasively. _

_ Her eyes widened. "Ooooo. Tell me." _

_ "Later," Ursa interrupted. "I want to meet my granddaughter." _

_ Ezra chuckled and handed over the baby in what had to be a practiced move by now. "Countess Wren, I present to you Mira Ursicha Wren-Bridger." _

_ Alrich crowded into Ursa's side and joined her in admiring the tiny girl with a shock of dark blue hair and wide, curious amber eyes. "She's beautiful." _

_ Ursa's tore her eyes off the cooing infant and raised a brow at Ezra. "Ursicha?" _

_ The young Jedi shrugged, flushing lightly. _

_ "Your idea or Sabine's?" Alrich asked kindly. _

_ "Mine," Ezra said, flushing a little darker and rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Mira is for my mother, but Ursicha… I just… wanted to do something to thank you, both of you, for… for making me feel welcome in your family. For making me feel like I'm wanted. For not despising me for basically stealing your daughter away from her heritage." _

_ "Ezra," Sabine said softly, touching his arm. They exchanged a look that Alrich couldn't even begin to interpret, but he thought she was trying to tell him it was all right. _

_ Alrich reached over and clasped the young man's shoulder. "We love the name and we love you like a son, and always will, Ezra. You don't have to feel guilty about anything." _

_ "We're just happy that Sabine has found her place," Ursa added, cuddling Mira close to her heart. "And even happier with this little one." She looked down at the baby again, her whole face lighting up like Alrich hadn't seen since Tristan was born. "You're going to be the first Mandalorian Jedi in centuries, little one. The galaxy better watch out." _

_ Ezra barked out a surprised laugh. "Oh, Force. I never thought of that." _

_ Sabine smirked, elbowing her husband. "I did." _

_ As the sun rose over the mountains, the stone deck of the stronghold echoed with harmonious laughter._

* * *

"Alrich. Wake up."

Alrich frowned in disappointment as he was ripped from his wonderful dream by a hand shaking his shoulder. He grunted and pried his eyes open, thinking that three hours of sleep was definitely not long enough.

"Ah, he lives," Fenn said, smirking at him, already fully armoured again except for his helmet which was tucked under his arm.

Alrich groaned as he sat up and swung his legs off the bed, scrubbing his tired eyes with the heels of his hands. Then he rolled his head on his shoulders and looked around the tent. "Where's everyone else?"

Fenn grinned. "Kanan's gone to get the kids and we're all meeting at the Command Tent.

"Ah," Alrich said, reaching down for his outer tunic to pull on. He paused with only his arms in the garment. "Wait. Where are the kids?"

Fenn laughed outright. "They left a couple hours ago. I think they've been canoodling."

Alrich raised a brow before putting on his tunic the rest of the way and then stepping into his boots. "Normally, as the father of the female teenager, I'd be worried about that, but Sabine can take care of herself and I have a feeling that Ezra would never be the initiator in any 'canoodling'."

Fenn laughed again, leading the way out of the tent. "I think you're right."

They walked in silence for a few steps before Alrich suddenly asked. "Hey. You've known Ezra for a while, right?"

Fenn gave him a curious look. "Yeah. Why?"

"Do you happen to know Ezra's mother's name?"

Fenn blinked at the strange question but wracked his memory anyway. He came up with an overheard conversation between Ezra and Sabine from at least a year ago. "Uhhhh. Mira, I think. Why?"

Alrich actually stopped moving from the shock, causing Fenn to look at him in surprise and stop as well. "What? What is it?"

Alrich, looking rather pale, said quietly, "Because I dreamed it. I dreamed about my first grandchild and her name was Mira." He didn't bother to mention the other impossible things in his dream; like Ursa and Tristan still being alive and well in the future.

Fenn basically gawked at the other man. "Whoa. That's freaky." Then he chuckled and clapped Alrich on the back. "Maybe you're a little bit Jedi, old man, having visions like Ezra."

Alrich laughed, shaking his head as they resumed walking, joining a crowd of people also making their way to the other side of the camp. "I seriously doubt that, Fenn Rau. And who you calling old? I'm pretty sure I'm younger than you."

Fenn smirked. "Possibly. But I don't have any kids yet, and I definitely don't have dreams about grandchildren. That makes you the older one by default."

Alrich rolled his eyes, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I might have to give you that one."

Kanan appeared beside Alrich like magic. "Give him what one?"

Fenn looked over the shorter man’s head at the masked Jedi, as their little group paused to let others enter the tent. “Alrich and I were just discussing who was actually older and if the fact that he’s dreaming about grandkids is a deciding factor.”

Kanan crossed his arms over his chest, raised a brow behind his mask, and his mouth twitched upwards with amusement. “That is a good question... If you’re old fogeys.”

Fenn and Alrich shot him nearly identical looks of pretend disgust. “Who you calling old, Jedi?” Fenn snarled in mock anger, his ice blue eyes sparkling with humour.

“No one, really. You said it yourself,” Kanan teased. “Bickering over age… Grandkids… Sounds like a fogey to me.”

The men snorted derisively.

“I take offense even at the mere idea that I’m washed up,” Fenn said with a sniff. 

“As do I. There are many more years left in me,” Alrich said firmly.

Kanan smirked at Sabine’s father. “Years in which to play with the grandkids?”

The older men rolled their eyes, giving up.

Fenn spotted Bo approaching the command tent and he immediately abandoned his companions to go meet her.

“I think I envy him,” Alrich mused quietly, watching the couple lean toward each other as they made their greetings.

“Why’s that?” Kanan asked, curious.

“Despite the fact that it took him till his fifties to find his cyar’ika, he now has the second half of his life to enjoy with her. Assuming neither of them get themselves killed, he’ll get to retire with her and grow old with her. I, on the other hand, found my cyar’ika early in life and had more than three decades to love her. But they were war filled times through most of it and it was a rare day indeed that we spent just enjoying life.”

“Would you rather you’d never met Ursa?”

Alrich shot Kanan a disbelieving look. _What kind of stupid question was that? _“Of course not! The years we did have will sustain me in memories for the rest of my li… Oh.”

Kanan smiled gently. “Yes, oh. You have no need to envy Fenn. Your wife lives on in you and Sabine and your future grandchildren. She may be in the Force now, but eventually, so will you, and you’ll be reunited, never to be torn apart again. That is something that should drive all thought of envy from your mind. Instead, we’ll rejoice for Fenn in his good fortune.”

“And tease him at every possible opportunity?” Alrich asked with a knowing smirk.

Kanan inclined his head, mouth curling up into a grin. “That too.”

Alrich sighed in contentment, feeling better than he had since the tragedy yesterday. “Thank you, Kanan.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You know, you’re awfully wise for one so young.”

Kanan chuckled. “Comes with the territory, and more life experience than I care to think about most times.” They both laughed morosely at that sad little fact of life. “And for the record, I’m thirty-one.”

“Hunh. You don’t look it,” Alrich peered closer at what he could see of the Jedi’s face and found no evidence of his age on his unblemished skin. _Must be a Jedi thing. Maybe that’s why he wears the beard; to look older._

_I should ask him about my dream. He would know if it means anything or was just the wishful thinking of my subconscious. _

Their conversation paused as Fenn and Bo-Katan finally joined them.

* * *

Bo’s heart did a little skip of joy when she saw Fenn all but bound over to meet her. She stopped where she was to give them a little privacy. “Good morning, Lord Rau,” she said as he took the last two steps before her. “Did you sleep well?”

Fenn stopped a fraction closer than was strictly necessary, unable to resist being as close to her as possible. _How does she look so radiant on only three hours of sleep? _“As well as can be expected,” he said evasively. _As in, barely at all. Dozing with one’s eyes closed doesn’t really count. _“I thought of you,” he murmured huskily, “like I said I would.”

Bo leaned a little closer, looking up at his handsome face like his glowing blue eyes were magnets for her own. She felt a flush of pleasure sweep over her from head to toe at his words. “I admit that I also spent more time than I should have thinking over our first day together.”

Fenn closed the distance even more, bending his head down towards hers. He blindly reached for her hand and found her wrist. Sliding down, he gently grasped her fingers in his gloved hand and raised her hand to his mouth without losing his contact with her enchanting emerald eyes. Pressing a kiss to her knuckles, he murmured against them, “This pleases me greatly to hear, My Lady Bo. I would wish to feature in your dreams if it be permitted.”

Bo felt her face flushing from the heat swirling through her. She found herself fluttering her eyelashes like a simpering girl and couldn’t find it within herself to care that her Badass Card was going to get revoked if anyone saw. “There is no one to say who I can or cannot dream about aside from myself, and I’m officially giving myself permission to dream about a certain Protector as of right now,” she whispered rather huskily back. _I can’t believe I’m flirting like a teenager with this man. Have I lost my mind?_

Fenn’s face lit up from within and his eyes seemed to glow even brighter as years fell off his face and he seemed almost childlike in his joy at her words. Bo felt her jaded heart melt. _Frag it, let the insanity commence. _

“Thank you,” the enamoured warrior breathed, squeezing her hand before releasing it reluctantly. Tearing his eyes form hers, he glanced around them and found the area deserted except for Kanan and Alrich waiting by the door of the Command Tent. “We should go in. The clans will be waiting for their instructions.”

“Yes, we should,” Bo acknowledged.

But neither moved. Neither wanted to. Every instinct was screaming for more connection; to touch and taste and caress and learn the other to the point of becoming two beings with only one soul. But propriety and a reluctance to be hurt held them back from actually making that first move that would trigger everything. Despite this, or because of it, their eyes were locked and their breaths practically mingled, their faces were so close together. If they couldn’t say it out loud yet with words or gestures, then their eyes could speak for them.

She lost track of how much time elapsed while she searched for the answers to all the questions in the universe within the crystal depths of his beautiful eyes, but eventually, Bo found the willpower to tear her gaze away and take a half step in the direction of where her duty lay. “Right. To the meeting.”

Fenn nodded and stayed close to her side. “Yes. Meeting. Battle. Defeat the Empire. But after that…?”

She glanced up at him, a pleased smile curling up her lips. “After that, Fenn Rau, I might be inclined towards taking some personal time to get better ‘acquainted’ with a certain Protector in more than my dreams.”

Fenn very nearly made a little leap of joy. His heart certainly did, amongst other body parts. “I look forward to it,” he said with every ounce of sincerity he could pack into his tone, as they came to a stop at the tent door.

Bo gave him a sweet smile full of promise and then opened the door, letting the rumble of hundreds of voices out. “Come on, boys,” she said, sweeping her eyes over the warrior, the Jedi, and the artist in amusement at the diverse assortment. “War waits for no one.” And with that, she swept into the tent, causing a nearly instant hush of respect from the crowd packed into the space not meant for that many.

She walked with calm assurance to the raised platform the Command Centre sat on while Fenn was left sighing after her like a lovesick boy as Kanan and Alrich joined him. They moved towards the front as well, but stayed on the outside edge of the crowd. _Stars, she’s magnificent, _Fenn thought as her commanding gaze swept over the assembled. The bright lights that lit the tent and the camp in general didn’t do most people any favours, but on her, they just made her fair skin look more incandescent and her red hair shine like fire rubies. 

Fenn felt like a mere peasant at the feet of a goddess, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him from continuing to court her.

Bo held the eyes of every clan leader for a moment before exchanging a quick smile of greeting with Kar. Nearly unbidden, her eyes settled on Fenn, drawing strength she didn’t really need from his avid gaze, because it felt nice to be desired like that.

It took her a moment to realize that the most important part of this mission was missing still. _Where the frag is Sabine? And the Jedi boy? If they’re off somewhere, getting frisky, I’m going to kill them both. Where’s her sense of honour and duty?_

Pushing her frustration at the Wren girl aside for the moment, Bo addressed the waiting crowd. “As we discussed last night, we’re about to embark on what I hope is a turning point in our war against the Empire. Most of you will be attacking the Imperial facilities in Sundari. There is a man in place already to open one of the smaller entrances to the dome to let in your ships. Count Vizsla is in charge of that operation and I wish you all good luck in your battles this morning. Strike swift and hard and may your aim be true. No mercy for the Imperial shabuire!”

She paused for breath as the majority of the crowd roared a battle cry. Once that died down, she continued. “At the same time, a second team will be openly infiltrating Saxon’s ISD. This team will be led by Lord Rau of the Protectors and consist of Clan Rook and my own. They will serve as a distraction while our Jedi friends erase all data on the beskar seeking weapon and Countess Wren and I destroy the prototype that the Empire has rebuilt.” She smiled wryly. “That is, if Countess Wren deigns to show up.”

She paused as the crowd chuckled somewhat uncomfortably. She could see Fenn whispering to Kanan, probably asking where the teenagers were. If the Jedi’s reassuring smile while he replied was anything to go by, he wasn’t worried, which she took to mean that the young people in question were on their way. _Thank the Manda. Still not pleased, though. _

Bo took control of the room again. “Now, I have no idea how the Empire is going to retaliate for our attacks this morning, but there are a total of three ISD’s around Sundari, so we should expect to have to deal with all of them. There are also five more in orbit, so this could be a long day of warfare. Keep your comms open and listen for new directions as events progress. Most of you have assured me of additional forces if necessary, but I hope we won’t need them.” Once again meeting everyone’s attentive gaze, she finished with, “May the Manda be with you all.”

Before the crowd could erupt into more battle cries, the tent door opened again and in strolled Sabine and Ezra as if it was perfectly normal for them to show up five minutes late to a very important meeting. Of course everyone noticed their arrival, since Bo turned her focus on them. The tension in the air ratcheted up ten notches. Bo suppressed the urge to snarl unpleasantly. _She could at least look apologetic. _

* * *

Literally everyone was already there when Sabine and Ezra arrived, making her wince mentally, including the leaders of the various other clans that had come to help with the mission at the front of each group of similarly coloured warriors. They squished their way past way too many judgemental people and joined Kanan, Fenn, and her father right at the front of the crowd.

Bo-Katan raised an imperious brow at Sabine and Ezra. "So glad you decided to join us. We were starting to wonder."

Sabine shrugged slightly, playing it cool. "I couldn't sleep, so Ezra and I took a walk. We went further than planned. I apologize if we kept you waiting."

Bo-Katan's red eyebrows rose further, glancing from her to Ezra, who was, for once, doing a good job of keeping his mouth shut and not fidgeting, but his face was certainly darkening across the cheekbones. "I see," Bo-Katan said, her tone clearly stating that she did, indeed, see.

Sabine sighed internally. If it hadn't been obvious already, she'd basically just confirmed her intention to take Ezra as her husband. One does not simply just go for a 'walk' with a boy in the dark for hours on a desert and then let it be known to everyone unless you intended to follow through with the implications. Not that they hadn't already been open about their relationship at dinner last night, but the whole being alone thing pretty much sealed the deal.

Sabine glanced at the expressions of everyone in the tent at the implied declaration. Only her father, Fenn, and Bo-Katan portrayed actual acceptance. The others all looked either skeptical, were withholding judgment for the time being, or outright displeased. Count Onyo, in particular, looked vaguely murderous, his purple eyes flashing from his dark face. _Never did like that bastard._ But no one made any moves to draw a blaster, so Sabine considered that a win. She focused on Bo-Katan again. "I'm glad you do. Now. On to the small matter of getting rid of the Duchess once and for all..."

Bo's eyes widened and she stared at Sabine in shock. "Wait. Did you name your weapon after my sister?!"

Sabine winced. _Opps, should have kept that to myself._ "It was a series of bad decisions that I'm not proud of. We can call it something else if you want?"

Bo was speechless for at least ten seconds as she glared at Sabine. _How dare she dishonour Satine like that! __I'm going to eviscerate that little brat. She's not going to be able to walk for a week after I'm done pounding some respect into her. How could she insult her own family like that? Okay, sort of family, but still..._ A touch from Fenn on her arm brought her out of her mental snit. She sucked in a breath and forcibly calmed herself. "There's no point. We're getting rid of that thing and that will be the end of it. I just have to say that Satine was a pacifist until the very end and she would be appalled to find out that a weapon of mass destruction was named after her. I don't know what you were thinking."

Sabine glanced down at her helmet for a moment, deciding. Feeling Ezra lean a fraction closer to her gave her the courage to say her piece. She looked back at the red haired woman, meeting the piercing green eyes steadily. "I was thinking that your sister's pacifist ways led to the fall of Mandalore. She caused a civil war for shab's sake! It was your sister's views on politics that eventually allowed the Imperials to take hold of our planet. She destroyed our people's spirit just as much as any weapon ever has. If she hadn't been a pacifist, there would never have been a need for the Republic to help our people. Maul and Death Watch should never have had the opportunity to take control. Clan Saxon should never have felt the need to ally with the Imperials just so what's left of our people weren't completely subjugated. It was your sister that was the catalyst for everything that is happening now. I don't claim to think that I could ever lead Mandalore better than anyone else, but Mandalore should never have been in the hands of a pacifist. And I know you know it. I know you were part of Death Watch because my mother was as well. I know you didn't believe in your sister's ideals, so you'd be a hypocrite if you said otherwise now." _So please don't. That won't go well for either of us. _

Everyone in the tent was basically holding their breath as they looked from Sabine to Bo-Katan, waiting for her response. This could go one of two ways. Bo-Katan could be seriously offended and challenge Sabine to a duel to the death or she would agree with Sabine and let her words against her sister slide.

Bo's fists were clenched and she was barely breathing while proverbial steam rose from her. But as she stared into Sabine's steady and resolute eyes, her shoulders dropped ever so slightly and her fists unclenched. Everyone in the room breathed again. "You're right," Bo admitted quietly. "I didn't agree with my sister. It's the reason we hardly ever spoke to each other. We were on two different sides, and in the end, we both lost and the Empire won. It's time to fix that. It's time to return Mandalore to being the home of people who are proud to call themselves Mandalorians. Proud of our warrior heritage. Proud to fight for what we believe in. And we will WIN!" Her voice rang with power and authority at the end and the tent erupted in cheers from the warriors packed within.

Sabine sighed in relief that that had turned out the way she'd hoped. _Thank the Manda. _Ezra nudged her with his foot and she glanced at him. He winked at her and smiled slightly, glancing down as she fingered the Darksabre hanging off the side of her belt. _Should I?_ she asked with her eyes. He nodded back with his own in agreement and Sabine felt an invisible weight lift from her shoulders.

She'd found the leader she sought.

Sabine had always known it wasn't herself. Bo-Katan was the rightful leader of Mandalore based on heritage. It was gratifying to know the woman lived up to Sabine's expectations.

Sabine stepped forward, holding the Darksabre out to Bo-Katan and the space instantly went silent again. "This belongs to you, My Lady. You are the true Mand'alor. The Mand'alor our people should have had leading us all along. I can't rightfully keep this anymore when I know I don't deserve to wield it. I now know that I found it so that I could pass it on to you."

Bo glanced from the sword hilt to Sabine's eyes and back again, indecision clear upon her face.

"Take it," Fenn said from beside her. "Sabine is right. You are a true leader of people and you uphold the original Mandalorian beliefs. I can think of no one better to be Mand'alor aside from Sabine, despite the fact that she doesn't believe it of herself."

Bo glanced at him, this man she'd barely known for a day but felt so connected to. Seeing the sincerity and belief in his eyes, she reached forward – the tent inhaled in anticipation - and grasped the Darksabre. It instantly felt right in her hand, like a missing piece of her soul had been returned. Bo ignited the dark blade and held it above her head triumphantly, staring at her people. "I accept this sword as vengeance for my sister from the monster who stole her and this blade from us. For my clan. And for all of Mandalore."

In the gust of relief that was exhaled by nearly everyone, Sabine went down to one knee in front of her, head bowed. "Clan Wren vows loyalty to Duchess Bo-Katan of Clan and House Kryze, our new and rightful Mand'alor."

Fenn Rau sank to a knee as well, looking up adoringly at the woman who had so thoroughly captured his heart. "As the sole remaining Protector, I pledge my loyalty to you and vow to remain in your service for as long as I am of able body and mind like the Protectors originally did for previous Mand'alors."

One by one, the leaders of every clan knelt, their members following suit immediately.

"Clan and House Vizsla vows our loyalty."

"Clan Awuad also vows loyalty."

"Clan Onyo vows loyalty."

"Clan Elder vows loyalty."

"Clan Rook vows loyalty."

And so it continued until every clan leader in the tent had their say.

Bo looked down at all the bowed heads and felt somewhat overwhelmed. The only two people left in the tent not kneeling were the Jedi, but as she glanced at them, they both nodded at her respectfully, even the blind one. _How DID he do that?_ That was good enough, she supposed. Her sister's Jedi, Kenobi, had been a reasonable sort as well. Fenn's example of showing support for the Jedi was something she would follow. Mandalore needed to give up their hatred of the Jedi; especially with so few of them left. Supporting Sabine's choice to marry one would be a good first step.

"I accept your loyalty. Thank you." Bo-Katan's voice rang through the tent and everyone stood as one and cheered again. She slashed the Darksabre through the air, getting their attention before turning it off and hooking it to her belt. "Now is not the time for celebrating. We have a battle to win first and no more time to waste standing here. To your ships!"

There was a mass exodus out of the tent in a vaguely orderly fashion with a feeling of excitement in the air. Sabine, Ezra and Kanan waited patiently for the majority to exit. Bo-Katan swept past them with Fenn Rau at her side. "You three are with me," she said as she passed.

They dutifully followed. Sort of.

Sabine glanced back at her father, who was staying behind, with a few others, keeping an eye on their progress from the Command Center. His eyes were worried. "I will come back, Father. Please believe that."

He smiled wanly. "I believe you will always try your hardest."

Sabine gave him an equally sad smile. "That has ever been the truth." Their identical eyes met for one more heartfelt second before Sabine turned and left the tent.

Ezra was waiting for her just outside. They walked together as they followed in the wake of the others. (Kanan had caught up to Fenn and Bo-Katan.) "I can tell you feel better now, now that you don't have the Darksabre anymore," he said quietly.

Sabine glanced at him and nodded slightly. "I was never comfortable with the thought of ruling the entirety of the Mandalorian people. It's going to be hard enough for me to adjust to the idea that I'm now the ruler of my clan. I know Father will help where he can, but he's not from the Wren line, so, no matter how wise he is, our clan can choose not to follow him. They'll listen to him, but they could disobey a direct order from him if they wished. From me? Not a chance. Unless someone challenges me to take the position. And that's usually a fight to the death."

Ezra gasped. "Please tell me you're kidding this time too."

She shook her head once. "No. I'm afraid not. But I wouldn't worry about it too much. I have no intention of being taken down in a duel."

As they walked up the ramp of Bo-Katan's Kom'rk fighter, Ezra gave her his best disbelieving eyes. "Not worry? Of course I'm going to worry. I always worry about you when you're doing something dangerous."

Sabine laughed softly and patted his cheek as they stopped in front of a closed door. "You're so cute." Since they were the only ones in the cargo hold, she grabbed his jacket with her free hand in a repeat of yesterday's move and pulled him down to her, kissing him hard, finishing with a nip to his lower lip. _So much better now that we know what we're doing._ Letting him go, she smirked at his wide eyed look. "Don't get yourself killed either, Bridger. It would make me very unhappy."

Ezra nodded dumbly as Sabine hit the button to close the ramp and another button to upon the door and walked through, leaving Ezra floundering on his feet as he tried to follow her. _Does she even know how much she rocks my world when she kisses me?_ And not just a peck either. Her tongue had definitely been in his mouth. And to more or less declare that she worried about him too, but in her own badass way, was enough to send a jolt to his heart and have all of his blood cells diving southwards.

Finally getting his brain to more or less communicate with his lower limbs, Ezra stumbled down the hallway after her, eyes glued to her perfect ass in that skintight bodysuit. She strolled into the common area like nothing was going on. Ezra couldn't say the same; his pants were excessively tight in the crotch area again and he had no desire to go in there looking like that.

As the ship's engines rumbled under his feet as they warmed up, Ezra leaned against a wall for a moment, taking deep breaths to calm himself back down. He started thinking of every non sexy thing he could imagine; death, slime, nerfs, cold showers, Vader.

He glanced down a few seconds later. _Yep. We're good to go. _

Ezra stepped around the corner and to the doorway, immediately bouncing off of Kanan, who'd just been about to come out.

Ezra almost fell over.

Kanan caught him with the Force in a swift move that no would ever see, and then handed his Padawan his helmet and jetpack that he'd left in the ship yesterday as if Ezra hadn't almost just fallen right back out of the common room.

_"Thanks. I'm a klutz today." _

_"No problem. I can tell you're a little preoccupied."_

_"Understatement. That girl is driving me nuts."_

_"You'll learn to think past it. Eventually." _Kanan smirked at him knowingly.

_"Thanks," _Ezra said, mentally rolling his eyes. He lifted the jetpack over his head and settled it onto his shoulders with an uncomfortable roll.

They moved further into the common room, to join the large group of warriors wearing blue and silver. Fenn fit right in. Sabine stood out like a sore thumb in both outlandish colours and lack of height. Ezra loved it. _Perfect, beautiful girl._

As they walked, Kanan pointed with a thumb over his shoulder at the jetpack already sitting on his back. "You have any tips for me?" he asked glibly. "It looks like I get to wear one now too."

Ezra felt the ship take off, engines still sounding not quite right, but someone obviously thought they would do for now. (Hera would be appalled.) He grinned at Kanan, eyes twinkling for the benefit of their now listening audience of Mandos. "My only advice is to use the Force to steer. I don't know how they do it without. These things should be classified as suicide attempts."

Kanan snorted, bumping him with his shoulder. "I'll keep that in mind."

Sabine bumped him from the other side as he stopped beside her. The corner of her mouth was drawn up into an amused smirk. "Hey. We're just more talented than you," she said with a teasing wiggle of her brows.

Ezra smirked back, looking at Sabine's artistic armour pointedly. "That is very true. I can barely draw a stick person."

It only took a few seconds for everyone to be laughing to the point of tears, grateful for the little bit of humour in a time of way too much seriousness.

* * *

Of course, ten minutes later, when everyone but the pilot on Bo-Katan's ship jumped out of the cargo hold, Kanan flew straight and true in his jetpack. Ezra growled in disgust. "Why do I always look like a bumbling idiot compared to everyone else?" he muttered under his breath. Sabine and Chopper heard him, of course, since she'd linked them via the comms in their helmets.

Chopper beeped something along the lines of, "Because you're a foolish meatbag too pathetic to figure anything out?"

Ezra tried not to take that one too much to heart, since Chopper had been insulting him for years, but it still hurt.

"Leave him alone, Chopper, or I'll take you apart and toss something vital out an airlock," Sabine warned.

The droid grumbled out a, "Fine. Sorry, Sabine."

_How come he only listens to the girls? _Ezra whined to himself.

But then her next words brought his mood up drastically and the annoying astromech from who-knew-which of the seven hells was forgotten.

"I think your occasional awkwardness is cute, babe. Don't stress over it. You're graceful when you really need to be. Have you seen yourself with a lightsabre lately? It's kriffin' hot."

Ezra flushed with pleasure while Chopper made the equivalent of gagging noises. Ezra turned off the link to the droid menace and just basked in the pleasure of Sabine's words. "Thank you, Sabine. If you were trying to make me love you more, you just succeeded."

_Not really, but I'll take it. _Now Sabine was feeling all warm and glowy inside. "You keep talking like that, Ezra, and you're going to find yourself a very happy boy next time we get some alone time."

Ezra gulped, about a hundred different fantasies of him and Sabine doing naughty things all trying to take precedence at once and his pants getting rather tight yet again. At least this time, he'd remembered to keep his shields up between him and Kanan. With a little effort, he consciously lowered his voice to something he hoped sounded sexy. "Everyone knows a true gentleman takes care of the lady first. It would be my greatest pleasure to do so."

Sabine blinked as his rumbled words set all of her nerve endings to tingling madly and she practically trembled with desire to fly over there and jump on him. _Holy nerfherders, who would have thought a day ago that Ezra could do that to me?_ She cleared her throat. "Maybe we should shelve this conversation for later. We're almost at Saxon's Star Destroyer anyway."

Ezra glanced at the ISD that was dwarfed by the massive dome surrounding the city of Sundari, before looking back at Sabine, who flew just ahead of him. Her slender figure was much more pleasant to look at, hands down. He could stare at her for hours and be perfectly content. (He'd actually done so while she was painting or sketching and not paying attention to him, so he knew this for a fact.) "Sure, cyar'ika. But there's no way I'm forgetting to take this up where we left off when I get the chance."

Sabine smiled like a very satisfied tooka inside her helmet. _Neither am I._ Now that she'd decided she wanted Ezra, the young woman didn't see any reason to take it slow. If the last four years hadn't been enough of a test of the strength of their friendship, then nothing was. "I'm holding you to that, Bridger."

The words were like a fortifying promise between them as they flew the last few metres to their next, possibly deadly, mission.


	9. I Am Not Dar'manda!

**I Am Not Dar'manda!: **

With a last glance at Bo and her group, Fenn and twenty of Clan Kryze's finest, including Kar-Anar, flew to meet up with the group of Clan Rook warriors, led by their Countess, who had disembarked their own Kom'rk only seconds after Fenn's group had.

He watched the two large fighters fly off to join the group attacking the city, which was going to have to be swift and brutal, since having more than a dozen Kom'rks fly into the dome at once was bound to arouse suspicions, especially at this time in the morning, when most people were supposed to be asleep.

As they hovered in the sky, Fenn tapped the side of his helmet indicating that everyone should turn to their agreed upon comm signal. "Comm check. Group leaders check in."

Kar immediately answered. **"Kryze Leader, check."**

And so did Countess Rook in a pleasant alto. **"Rook Leader, check."**

Fenn nodded in satisfaction as he turned in the air and started flying in the direction of Sundari. "Good. Troops, sound off to your leaders as we fly. Make sure everyone is connected."

With Fenn at the head, a total of forty-one warriors veed out behind him in a well practiced formation. It took five minutes for the dome of the city to appear on the horizon; plenty of time for the Kom'rks and the warriors within to already start their preplanned attack. (One that had been in the planning stage for weeks, and was just working out well, timing wise.)

The advantage to their fighters was that they were big enough to do extensive damage, but small enough to fit within the openings in the dome. The three Star Destroyers that hovered outside the city like overbearing guards couldn't actually do anything because they did not. And they could not fire directly on the dome itself because it was well shielded and would just be a waste of fire power.

The Imps had basically crippled their best weapons. Not very well thought out, but that was Tiber Saxon's problem.

Spotting his target, Fenn flew for the main hangar of Saxon's personal ISD. _Aruetii scumbag. _The last living Protector was looking forward to this mission very much.

* * *

"They're coming, Sir, as Grand Admiral Thrawn predicted," Captain Jett Hark of the Imperial Super Commanders told his superior. "Sensors have picked up two separate groups of heat signatures flying right at us, one small and one quite large."

Tiber Saxon, pale and lean under his Imperial plastoid armour, stared out into the night from his position in front of the window of the bridge of his pride and joy. He'd called his ISD 'The Revengar' in honour of his older brother. He thought he could just make out the tiny flickers of light that represented the flames of many jetpacks off in the distance. He smiled maliciously. "Excellent."

Jett could see the man's expression in his reflection and was glad he was wearing his helmet to hide his own expression of disgust. Never had he been so torn about his loyalties in his life. Technically, Count Tiber Saxon was his clan leader and he was honour bound to follow him. He was also the Governor of the planet, which gave him even more power. But he was also the cruelest, most selfish bastard that Jett had ever met, and he had no desire to follow such a man for who knew how long.

Jett had never been a huge fan of Gar Saxon either, but at least he led his people with a modicum of respect to their needs and had stayed essentially true to the Resol'nare. And he'd been the Count of their clan for nearly as long as Jett had been alive, making him something familiar and what he'd been raised to follow.

But this man… he was just all sorts of wrong. Jett despised how much Tiber was turning into an Imperial parrot. He wouldn't even speak Mando'a anymore and had banned the language from the city. And he was quite mad, on top of it all. Especially this business with the Mando killing weapon. He'd tried to make Saxon see reason earlier, but it was no use; Tiber was set on promoting a weapon that could very well eradicate the Mandalorian race. (Or at least any who wore the armour. And those that did not were holdouts to the peace loving 'New Mandalorians' and that would just be a crying shame if that was all that was left.)

If that wasn't insane and against everything Jett had been raised to believe, he didn't know what was.

But he couldn't see an out yet, so Jett continued to mentally grit his teeth and play along with Saxon's plans. But not forever. Not even for another month at this rate. If worse came to worse and Saxon started using the weapon on their people on a large scale, Jett was resolved to take matters into his own hands and murder the bastard himself, even if it meant then going into hiding elsewhere in the galaxy.

Tiber turned around and studied his Captain. "Everything is ready for our 'guests'?"

Jett nodded once, stiltedly. "Yes, Sir. What's left of my Commandoes and practically every unit of stormtroopers we have are waiting for them in the various hangars."

Tiber smiled that evil smile once again, making Jett clench his teeth to stop himself from visibly showing his hatred for him. "Good. And I trust you're feeling combat ready again after your dip in the bacta tank?" His voice practically dripped with derision.

A sudden glimpse of orange, and boots kicking him out of a speeding transport flashed through the Commando's mind. His shoulder twinged in imaginary pain from the harsh landing that had sent his already-prone-to-it shoulder into screaming agony as it was dislocated yet again. He'd had to withdraw from yesterday's mission after that, having to call for an evac to take him to the nearest med droid to fix him. He seriously regretted the fact that he had not been wearing a jetpack at the time; he could have saved himself a great deal of pain by simply flying with the kick.

It was shabla embarrassing, being taken out by a surprise kick and bad luck.

Jett nodded once again, standing stiffly. "Yes, Sir. Everything's back in working order."

Saxon all but sneered at him. "I hope so. This is the second time that I know of that you've failed in your duty because of that shoulder. If it happens again, I think a demotion will have to be issued. I can't have a weakling as the leader of my primary force of troops."

_Talyc shabla besom. _Jett wisely kept that thought to himself, however. Instead he simply said, "Yes, Sir. I understand, Sir."

Their pleasant (not) talk was interrupted by the comms going off all over the bridge.

After standing in shock for a moment, listening to the chaos, Saxon whirled around, stalked forward, and snarled at the nearest communications officer. "What's going on?" he demanded.

The poor man visibly trembled as he stuttered out, "T.. th.. the city is under attack, Sir! With Gauntlet class fighters and hundreds of jetpack powered warriors! Headquarters just took a massive hit! They're also targeting the Academy, the supply docks, the power complexes, and the Imperial garages."

Jett was practically grinning his face off as Tiber Saxon turned as red as a tomato. He whirled on Jett. "How did this happen?! Who let them into the city?!"

"I don't know, Sir," Jett said matter-of-factly. _But I applaud them, whoever they are._

Saxon opened his mouth, probably to yell at Jett some more, but a sudden rumble of the entire ship that nearly knocked them off their feet had Saxon snapping his mouth shut in a hurry.

After regaining his balance, he yelled, "What the frag was that?"

As if in answer, Jett's comm pinged inside his helmet. He set it so the comm spoke externally as well so Saxon could hear.

**"They're here, Sir. About forty of them just blasted the hell out of the TIEs. Shall we engage?"**

Saxon nodded almost frantically.

Jett smiled wider. _By the Manda, I hate him. _"Yes, engage the enemy. No mercy." As that was enough to satisfy Saxon, he changed his comm back to internal only so his next commands could only be heard between him and his second. "No, wait. New orders. Use the stormtroopers as cannon fodder if you have to. We've lost enough of our men lately. Keep the visiting Mandalorians occupied but try not to kill them. I have a feeling they're going to be our allies very soon."

"**Sir?"**

"Just trust me on this, Rontil. I'll explain later."

**"Yes, Sir."**

Saxon was waiting impatiently for Jett to indicate he was done giving his men orders. As soon as he turned his helmeted head back towards the finger drumming man, Saxon huffed out. "Finally. I hope everything is going according to plan down there?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Then come with me. I want to check on my weapon. Surely if the big group is attacking the main hangar, the smaller group is after my new prize."

Jett hid his sigh. "Yes, Sir."

He reluctantly followed the quickly striding megalomaniac. _This should be interesting. I hope the Wren girl is here. Unlike the last time, I wouldn't mind seeing her destroy another Saxon. This particular Saxon, to be specific. _

Just to keep the boat rocking a bit, because he couldn't resist, Jett asked, "What about the attack on the city? Shouldn't you be seeing to that?"

Saxon whirled on him, his face scrunching up with rage as he got right up into Jett's visor. "I'll deal with them later. First, we have to protect the weapon and capture the Wren bitch so she can make it work at its full potential. Kryze's 'demonstration' of power won't last long once I unleash the new weapon on the occupants of the city. Kryze and Wren can watch everything they've worked for fall to pieces as the city turns on them for the mass loss of life. No one will want to stand with them after that."

And with that last spiteful word, practically spat at Jett, Saxon spun back around and continued his single-minded march towards the small hangar closest to the bridge.

Jett stared after him with his mouth agape. _He's insane. Certifiably, unequivocally, categorically, positively beyond a shadow of a doubt off his rocker. Has he no idea what such a plan would do to rally every single Mandalorian against him? I can't believe I'm following this madman. _

But his feet were, as if compelled to do so. Maybe it was the desire to see how this all turned out. It certainly wasn't from his now nonexistent sense of duty towards the monster masquerading as a human.

_I really really hope Sabine Wren is as brilliant as Tristan said she was. She's going to have to be to get us all out of this ball sucking black hole of a mess. _

* * *

Fenn and his group of warriors hovered around the edges of the hangar opening, waiting for the signal from Bo to say that they were in place. The other group had further to fly to reach their destination, not to mention a more dangerous approach that required more stealth. And it was possible they would have to try more than one hangar to find the particular Walker that carried the weapon. But they were banking on Tiber Saxon wanting to keep it as close to him as possible and it being located in the hangar closest to the bridge and Tiber's office and quarters, so were heading there first.

Due to his extended 'visit' with the clan, Alrich had been able to confirm the very interesting fact that Tiber spent almost as much time on the ISD as he did in the Saxon mansion in the city. It seemed to Fenn that Saxon had fully embraced the persona of an Imperial and all the 'perks' that came with the position of power in their ranks.

Only two minutes later, Bo's voice sounded in Fenn's helmet and he breathed a silent sigh of relief. It meant they found their objective on the first try and greatly reduced the risk of discovery.

**"We've found the Walker."**

"That's great."

**"The weapon is not attached to it, but it must be nearby. Sabine says it's rather heavy."**

Fenn laughed softly at her dry tone. "Makes sense."

**"We're going to need that distraction. There's a whole squad of stormtroopers hanging out in here."**

"Is it possible they knew we were coming?"

**"That, or Saxon's just being a cautious pain in the shebs."**

Fenn chuckled. "Distraction in one."

**"Thank you. Good luck. Don't get killed."**

"You too."

Smiling rather dopily at her open display of concern, and glad no one could see it, Fenn shook himself into action. He switched his comm over to the group one and called out to his team. "We're good to go. Incendiaries ready?" he asked as he pulled two grenades from a pouch and watched them all copy his move. "Target the TIEs on the outer edges of the room. Whatever else is in there, we'll deal with after. If there are troopers, take them out. And if you see any of those shabla Super Commandoes, have at it; they deserve whatever they get."

He listened with a grim smile as a chorus of growls and battle cries sounded off over the comm.

Fenn only gave them a moment to hype themselves up.

"Pins."

As a unit, all the pins were pulled. Holding the ticking bombs in his right hand, he pulled a blaster with the left, mentally counting down in his head from thirty.

At ten, and as if they'd practiced the move a hundred times, they all flew into the hangar and scattered.

Despite the surprise of seeing what amounted to a sea of white armoured troopers waiting for them, they stuck to the plan and lobbed their grenades at the TIEs hanging on the walls.

It made a mighty big bang and many of the troopers fell out of formation as they stumbled on the shaking deck, debris raining down on them, taking out even more, and confusing the rest.

Fenn and company pulled their second blasters, and with the tactical advantage of being airborne in the now chaotic flaming and smoking hangar bay, they started shooting.

* * *

Still feeling flushed and tingly from her rather naughty banter with Ezra, Sabine moved to poke her head above the decking of Saxon's Star Destroyer, to look into the hangar. But at the last possible millisecond, Kanan stopped her with a hand on her arm, shaking his head adamantly.

She took that to mean that he sensed people up there. With a quick flurry of hand signals, she asked him how many and he replied two dozen.

Nodding in acknowledgment, Sabine still had to stick her head above deck to see if this was the right hangar. She indicated that she was going up very cautiously, and did so.

Poking just the bare minimum of her helmet above deck, she took a mental picture and then ducked back down a second later.

After hearing no cries of alarm from the troopers above, she breathed in relief at her success. Then she evaluated the mental image she'd memorized.

As Kanan had said, there was a compliment of troops standing in formation in the middle of the hangar full of crates, a couple of midsized transports, a fancy lambda class shuttle, and at the back, one modified Walker.

_Gotcha. _

She told her little group what she saw via the comms. Kanan, who was helmetless, would just have to eavesdrop on Ezra's thoughts or whatever he did in this kind of situation. (Some of his magical all knowing ways in the past made so much more sense now that she knew that he and Ezra mind talked to each other.) "We've got the right hangar. I see the Walker, but the weapon (She refrained from calling it the Duchess out loud so Bo-Katan didn't get any more pissed off at her.) isn't attached. It has to be nearby though; it's kriffing heavy. There's also a squad of troopers up there, waiting for us."

"Lovely," Ezra commented sarcastically.

"I'll let Fenn know," Bo said calmly. "We'll deal with the troopers when Fenn makes his move."

"Understood," Sabine said.

They waited for Bo-Katan to talk to Fenn.

From their location, they could see the faint glow of explosions happening inside the thick dome, indicating that the simultaneous attack on Sundari was going off well. One of the Imperial facilities being targeting was the Academy. Sabine wasn't sure how she felt about that since the school didn't hold much in the way of fond memories for her except for her friendship with Ketsu. But on the other hand, the building was practically a national monument and the students within were probably innocent in this war. Bo-Katan had promised the living quarters would not be targeted and any who wished to escape would be allowed to do so. At this time of the morning, the rest of the facility would be empty. If any of the students were stupid enough to fight back, then they were on the wrong side of the war anyway.

Then again, Sabine had personally blown up the science labs in her attempt to destroy the Duchess in the first place, so blowing up the rest of the school was just a fitting step up.

A minute of unheard communication later, the Mand'alor said, "Get ready. Distraction imminent. When you hear the boom, we go in."

"There are many crates to use as cover," Sabine supplied.

"Helpful," Ezra said brightly.

They spent the next twenty seconds needlessly checking their weapons and supply of explosives, just to pass the time that seemed to drag impossibly slowly.

And then they heard the BOOM.

In only seconds, Sabine, Ezra, Kanan, Chopper, and Bo-Katan all flew up onto the decking and they dashed into a secluded hiding spot behind some handy crates.

They found the troopers no longer in formation as a few had been knocked off their feet or staggered into each other. In the enemy's moment of weakness, the Rebels opened fire, taking out nearly half the squad in the first few seconds. The rest of the troopers dove for cover and it became a game of shots exchanged.

_"We don't have time for this," _Ezra thought to Kanan.

_"Then let's change the game, shall we?"_

With only a glance at each other, Master and Padawan started circling the outside edge of the hangar in opposite directions while Sabine and Bo-Katan kept the attention of the troopers with a steady hail of shots. Using crates as cover and dashing or jumping the spaces in between, the two Jedi snuck up on every trooper and stunned them.

When there were no more opponents to deal with, everyone converged in the center of the hangar amidst the bodies of the troopers.

"Well, that was fun," Ezra said, grinning under his helmet.

"Agreed," Bo said, seeing the advantage to having Jedi on her team. A good Mandalorian could have pulled off the same maneuver, but the Jedi had done it much faster than a normal human could have.

"We have to keep moving," Kanan pointed out pragmatically. He had no desire to run into any more obstacles than absolutely necessary and the longer they were in the ship, the more time was had by the enemy to get in his way.

"Right," Sabine nodded.

And with that, they split up.

Ezra, Kanan, and Chopper dashed off towards the inner part of the ship, hopefully stealthily, but willing to do whatever was necessary to get to the main computer that linked the ship to the Imperial database so that Chopper could delete everything pertaining to the Duchess weapon.

"Good luck," Sabine called over her private comm to Ezra as he hurried away.

"Thanks, gorgeous," he replied. "You too."

Sabine felt herself blushing yet again and was grateful for her helmet. If only she'd known that Ezra was capable of making her feel so special, she was pretty sure she would have pursued him years sooner; dorky teenage stage, stupid flirting, and all.

At least he had hair back then.

_I really need to convince him to let it grow back. I miss those gorgeous blue locks. _

She and Bo-Katan ran past the red painted AT-DP Walker that had been modified to carry the Duchess and boarded the lift to an upper level beside the hangar, still hoping that the weapon was being worked on nearby.

She was right. The familiar donut shaped power generator was sitting out in the open, not far from the lift. It wasn't exactly the same as her model, but it was close enough to be unmistakable as the thing she'd invented. Sabine cringed to see it whole again and the ghosts of remembered screams whispered through her mind.

Holstering her blasters upon seeing that the area was clear, Sabine gestured at her greatest regret. "There it is," she said quietly to Bo-Katan.

Bo also holstered her blasters and they walked towards the weapon. "It doesn't seem so dangerous like this," she said, eyeballing the object that had somehow turned warriors into ashes. "So how do you plan to destroy it?"

Sabine glared at the machine, reluctant to get closer to it. "I was thinking about blowing it up, but I tried that last time, and they somehow managed to rebuild it. I need to come up with something a little more permanent, apparently."

Bo-Katan unhooked the Darksabre from her belt and looked at it. "What about this?"

Sabine raised a brow under her helmet. "That... just might work. It'll be dangerous though. We won't have a lot of time to run for it."

Bo-Katan's voice was amused as she said, "If danger isn't your middle name, you're not a Mandalorian."

"I guess I qualify then," Sabine laughed. "Ezra is always whining about how I'm always running towards the danger."

"About him," Bo-Katan said hesitantly. "Are you prepared to deal with the fallout of marrying a Jedi? There's going to be more than a few unhappy people who won't be willing to excuse his heritage, no matter how much he's helped us."

Sabine sighed. "I know. I was almost one of them, once, when I first found out that Kanan and Ezra were Jedi. Don't even ask me how Ezra won me over, because I have no idea."

Bo-Katan chuckled. "My sister said the exact same thing about her Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Sabine's helmet whipped around and she stared at the older woman in shock. "What? Your sister and Kenobi were a thing?"

"Without question. Aside from bickering like an old married couple whenever they were together, I caught them making out once, when we were all soooo much younger. That was after Kenobi and his Master had been her protectors for almost an entire year and they were being reassigned to a new mission. I can tell you, they most definitely didn't like the idea of being parted."

"I can't imagine why," Sabine said dryly, thinking of how she'd feel if Ezra were to leave her for long periods of time.

Suddenly, a low buzzing sound filled the area and swiftly got louder. "What's that sound?" Bo asked, hooking the Darksabre to her belt as she moved forward cautiously.

_Shit, shit, shit! _Sabine almost froze in fear as memories assaulted her. _Not again!_ "Oh no. It's been activated!" And then her feet were inspired and she moved to rush the last metre to the Duchess to try and turn it off.

She didn't make it.

An electrical charge burst from the weapon and struck her and Bo-Katan.

It felt like her bones were being fried and her skin was on fire. It was agony. The worst pain she'd ever felt. And that was saying something, since she'd been shot more than once and broken a bone or two over the years.

It was all she could do not to scream.

* * *

As Sabine moved towards the weapon, Bo activated her comm to Fenn. "Fenn. The weapon, it's been…"

And then she couldn't speak anymore because of the pain that slammed her teeth together. She fell to the ground on boneless limbs with Fenn's frantic calls in her ears.

**"Bo? Bo?! Talk to me. What's going on?"**

And then static filled her ears as the comm short-circuited.

* * *

In a distant hangar, Fenn almost abandoned his mission to go rescue Bo. He did stop shooting and moving long enough for a trooper to score a glancing hit off his shoulder guard, which brought him back to the task at hand. His strong sense of duty kept him there, but his heart was crying for him to go.

All he could do was wait for the comms to come back and do his job. If he didn't hear from her again in the next fifteen minutes or so, he was going to go all badass on the Imps between him and Bo and storm over to the other hangar and find her.

For the time being, he went all badass on the Imps right in front of him. Especially the ones in white painted beskar armour trying to blend in with the regular troopers.

His already meager sense of mercy had evaporated into the smoky air.

* * *

Ezra and Kanan made quick work of the trip to the computer room. They'd only been spotted by one small squad of troopers and they'd taken care of them as swiftly as possible. Ezra had pulled all of their blasters too him and neatly sliced and diced them as they flew towards him, while Kanan had grabbed the Imps with the Force and tossed them against the nearest wall, knocking them all out.

It was a move they'd perfected over the years of raiding and escaping from Imperial facilities, and they were quite proud of it.

The computer room had a couple of techs working in it and only one guard on the door. Ezra took care of the guard with a Force enhanced punch to the helmet. He immediately slumped against the wall, unconscious. _Too easy. _After relieving him of his blaster rifle, he threw him down the hallway with a big Force push, until he hit a wall with a thump and sliding down to the floor bonelessly. _Okay, that might have been a little much. Oh well._

At the same time, Kanan opened the door with the Force, not bothering to wait for Chopper to do it.

"What are you...?!" came from inside the room before the male voice was quickly silenced by Kanan.

As Ezra walked into the room, carrying his new prize, he saw Kanan stunning the second officer and the man slumping over his console. Kanan twirled his blaster around his finger and holstered it with a grin in Ezra's direction.

Ezra chuckled. "That never gets old."

Kanan grinned wider and shrugged. "Once a gunslinger, always a gunslinger." He glanced at Chopper, who'd followed Ezra in. "Okay, Chop, do your thing. Find anything pertaining to the 'Duchess' or 'Arc Pulse Generator' and make it disappear forever."

"Yes, boss," Chopper beeped sarcastically, disgusted at being told his mission yet again.

Ezra suddenly gasped and almost collapsed as searing pain shot through his entire body and Kanan wavered as the pain kicked back through their bond. _Force, Sabine, what are they doing to you? _He hated to do it, but to function he had to; Ezra almost completely blocked his bond to Sabine.

"What is it, Ezra?" Kanan said softly, hurrying over and putting a hand on Ezra's shoulder, pouring strength into him through their bond.

Breathing heavily, Ezra straightened up. "Sabine. It's Sabine," he gasped.

Kanan squeezed his shoulder. "Go. Help her. I can hold the room."

Ezra nodded once and then took off, back the way he'd come, running as fast as the Force could lend wings to his feet. _I'm coming, Sabine. Hold on. _He kept his bond with her almost completely closed so that he could focus, but it was killing him that she was in pain and he wasn't there to save her. He wished he could take her pain and siphon it into the Force, but he couldn't do it and move at the same time. At the moment, he figured it was more important that he save her from whatever was hurting her.

He tried comming her on their private channel, but he got no response and had to assume that she either wasn't wearing her helmet or whatever was hurting her had shorted out the comm systems. Not good.

* * *

Not even a minute after Ezra left, a squad of troopers arrived at the computer room. They spotted Kanan and the leader barked out, "Don't move," while aiming his blaster at Kanan.

Kanan wasn't feeling quite as lenient as he had been now that he knew that Sabine was being tortured or something. He smiled coldly and ignited his lightsabre, sensing the troopers' surprise. "Oh, I'm moving," Kanan said mockingly. It was his new favourite response to the command he'd heard much to frequently over the course of his life.

They shot at him, blasters barking in staccato waves.

In the Force, Kanan felt as though he was watching the laser beams move in slow motion. He deflected each one of the shots right back at the person they originated from.

Thirty seconds later, it was over, and there was a pile of white armour clad bodies in the doorway.

"Well done, meathead," Chopper beeped. "Now we can't get out."

Kanan shot the droid what would have been a dirty glare if he wasn't wearing a mask. "You should know better than that by now, C1-10P," calling the droid by his designation number, knowing Chopper hated that just as much he hated being called meathead or meatbag or any of the other insults Chopper liked to throw at him.

Chopper raised a manipulator at him.

_Force, I dislike that droid. _

Kanan shook his head in defeat. Because he was Hera's droid, Kanan never could toss him out an airlock like he'd always wanted and threatened to do. And dismantling him or crushing him with the Force was definitely off the table, so Kanan, as usual, ended up letting the droid get the last word. After all these years together, they were still frenemies at best. (And that was on a good day.)

Kanan turned his attention to the pile of bodies and started lifting them into the room and off to the side with the Force. While doing the grunt work, he wondered what was happening with Sabine and Ezra. All he could feel from Ezra at the moment was determination and worry, which wasn't very helpful.

* * *

Above the sound of her own brain cells frying, Sabine vaguely heard the sound of a door opening and a voice saying, "Stay back, Captain."

White boots came into her line of vision from her prone position on the floor and the excruciating agony finally eased off as the whine of the Duchess faded away.

"Sabine Wren," the voice belonging to the boots said condescendingly. "You truly are brilliant. Except for thinking you could infiltrate my ship unnoticed. Sadly, as much as I would like to end your life, I need you alive. You are going to upgrade your little experiment and deliver a weapon that operates at its full potential."

Rage inspired her abused body to move and she shoved her helmet off her head and stared up at the light haired man she assumed was the next Saxon bastard trying his best to murder her. _Just get in line._ "Never!" she spat, raising herself up onto one hand and feeling her still twitching muscles tremble in protest. "I'd rather die than help you, mir'osik!"

"Oh, I'm sure that will happen sooner or later, dar'manda bitch. But for now, let's see if I could persuade you," Saxon's ice blue eyes promised more pain and death.

Sabine glared back at the traitorous shabuir wearing Imperial armour and forced herself to her feet. (She refused to lie on the ground in front of him any longer.) "I am not dar'manda!" she spat in his face despite the considerable height difference. "My clan formally accepted me back months ago. And since you killed my mother with this weapon that I never should have made, I am now the Countess of Clan Wren! I will have vengeance on the Saxon clan for everything they have taken from mine!"

Saxon seemed only slightly taken aback by her words, before a light of glee lit his eyes. "Sooo, my little trap caught the Countess, did it? That turned out even better than I hoped."

_Shabuir! I'm going to slaughter him until his entrails become his extrails. _Sabine snarled at him and was just about to leap on him and pummel him to death when the Super Commando Captain stepped up. "Governor, stop. This is too much. I understand using the weapon against rebels, but if she makes it more powerful, how will we prevent the Empire from using it against ALL Mandalorians?" She wondered what clan he was from. It couldn't be the Saxon clan, or he wouldn't dare to question the head of the clan. Unless he had a death wish.

Saxon was incensed, his face turning red with rage. "I already told you my plans! I am the Empire! Palpatine has shown me the way to true power." The mental image that brought made Sabine shudder at the squidgy thought. "If you can't be trusted to support me, then you deserve this as much as she does," he snarled at his Captain.

Sabine had half a second to process what he meant, but by then it was too late. Before she could stop the pale maniac, he pushed a button on his vambrace and the Duchess powered back up, electricity targeting the beskar armour on those in the room once again.

Sabine cried out and fell to the floor again, unable to stand through the pain. The Captain also fell, his cries anguished, and Bo-Katan whimpered on the floor beside her. (She'd never gotten up yet.)

Saxon laughed evilly, his voice ringing in mocking echoes through her head. "This is not enough power to kill you; just enough to teach you a lesson. But in the end, all of Mandalore will bow to me."

"Not while I'm alive," Sabine said through clenched teeth under her breath.

She thought she heard Bo-Katan and the Captain both say, "Nor I," but the agony was building again and her ears were ringing, so she couldn't be sure.

And the thought that the Captain was willing to change sides was rather ludicrous, so she immediately assumed she'd been hearing things.

* * *

Ezra's journey to Sabine was delayed when he came to an intersection and was suddenly caught between two large squads of troopers. _Karabast. I don't need this poodoo right now. Sabine needs me. _

He ducked back around the corner and then, peeking around the edge, emptied the rifle he'd just acquired into one of the squads, laying them flat with ruthless head shots.

Tossing that to the side, he pulled his blaster and lit his lightsabre at the same time and charged around the corner, running right at the second squad. His blaster sang and his green lightsabre was a blur as he returned shots from where they came. He was so in tune with the Force and so determined, the troopers didn't stand a chance against the blur of motion that was Ezra Bridger.

Two minutes after first encountering the troopers, it was over and Ezra was once again sprinting towards his love, leaving about forty bodies in his wake.

He'd deal with the regret later.

Kanan had taught him that a Jedi always did their best to leave their opponents alive whenever possible. In most cases, Ezra was all for that philosophy. Today was no longer one of those cases.

Ezra finally reached the hangar after what felt like an eternity.

What Ezra wanted to do was charge up to the next level where he felt Sabine was with guns blazing, since he could sense she was once again in extreme pain, but a sudden word of caution from Kanan made him pause.

_"Settle down for a second and assess the situation. Don't make it worse."_

_"Yes, Master."_

Forcing himself to take in a big breath to help calm his mind and heart, Ezra then looked up at the bottom of the lift that appeared to be the only way into the workshop area on the second level. Raising a hand, he concentrated on the lift and made it lower a couple metres and then he jumped up onto the platform.

And then he listened, since Sabine's pain seemed to have stopped again and something in the Force (aside from Kanan) was telling him to wait. _Perhaps this was something that Sabine needed to do on her own?_ He didn't like it, but Ezra heeded his instincts.

* * *

Sabine was once again gasping for air and praying for strength as the Duchess came to a stop.

"Are you impressed by how well your weapon works?" Saxon taunted. He pressed another button on his gauntlet and two regular stormtroopers ran into the room. All three of them pointed their blasters at Bo-Katan, who was in worse shape than Sabine, since she had a lot more beskar on her than Sabine did. "I believe you can do better. Help me to increase the range of the weapon, or she will die."

Sabine struggled to her feet again, resolve growing in her. The more than half baked idea that had occurred to her hours ago was finalizing itself in her mind; all of her precautionary prep work for this moment coming to fruition. "Stop! I'll do what you want," she said to placate the Saxon bastard for the time she needed to accomplish her task.

"Sabine, don't," Bo said weakly as she struggled up onto her feet as well. _Don't help that piece of filth traitor._ At least she'd managed to get her helmet off too, before the latest onslaught from the perhaps appropriately named Duchess, or she wasn't sure she'd even be conscious right now.

Sabine ignored her and went to the weapon, accessing the computer system. She frowned in concentration as she swiftly familiarized herself with the new computer they'd given it, and then she changed the command codes and linked the computer to her wrist computer, downloading the new algorithms in just moments that she'd written hours ago on a whim while eating dinner. She also left Saxon his link to the computer, because if this was going to happen, she wanted him to do it to himself.

Captain Hark had also forced his body back into a standing position, unwilling to let the females outdo him. His bleary focus settled on Countess Kryze first, a vague sense of concern for the older but incredibly powerful woman crossing his mind. She might technically be his enemy, but he had always respected her for her determined upholding of her values as a Mandalorian.

He shouldn't have worried; the redheaded dynamo was already looking steady on her feet and ready to stop the proceedings if she had to, fingering the hilt of what Jett immediately recognized as the Darksabre. His eyes widened in surprise. _Whadayaknow, the Countess has the Darksabre now. I wonder if she challenged Sabine for it, or if the girl gave it to her? _

Jett knew that Sabine had been in possession of the Darksabre as recently as yesterday, having seen her using it during her mission to appropriate her father. But there had been no word of her claiming to be the Mand'alor in the months that she'd had it. (And that was something no one would have missed.) Now that it was in the possession of someone else meant that a long running power vacuum had finally been filled.

_Whoa. That means Kryze is now The Mand'alor. I hope. Also a Duchess. Mandalore should be happy to bow to her rule. She's certainly better than Maul. Or Gar Saxon. _

Jett smiled in satisfaction. He could now honourably follow her with a guilt free conscience. It was one of the tenets of the Resol'nare, after all; rally to any cause without question when called upon by the Mand'alor.

He turned his gaze to the younger woman next, admiringly. The girl's strength was impressive after taking two hits from the weapon. He'd had just one, and he still felt like he'd rather throw up and pass out than stand there like nothing was wrong. _I wonder if she's doing what she says she is, or if she's playing Saxon?_

_Please let it be the latter. I really don't want to get zapped to death. That footage from the test run was some of the most brutal deaths I've ever seen. _

Jett thought about running for it, but that was quickly squashed. He needed to see how this was going to play out. If Saxon won this little mind game, then he was already as good as dead anyway.

"You're doing the right thing, Sabine," Saxon said as she was working. "This weapon of yours... It can unite the Houses. It can bring peace."

Sabine shot him a look of disgust. "As long as our people are on their knees before you and your Emperor."

"Mandalore must adapt to survive. Would you rather we destroy ourselves in a fight that CANNOT be won?"

_Yes, I would_. But she didn't believe they couldn't win. As a united force, Mandalorians far outclassed whatever the Empire could throw at them. Their problem in the past had been that they weren't working together. Now, under a proper Mand'alor, they were. She doubted Saxon was aware of just how many clans were currently attacking Imperial Headquarters right now. Bo-Katan had already brought more Mandalorian Houses together to fight for their freedom then any leader had managed in the last hundred years. The true-to-her-heritage Duchess was the only weapon Mandalore needed to make everything right again.

She longed to tell him this and gloat childishly, but for now, she had to keep Saxon relatively happy and that meant more or less playing along with his little power trip. "At least we'd die free, as TRUE Mandalorians." She stepped back from the Duchess, raising her hands in supplication. "It's done. The weapon is at full power now, but I'm begging you... DON'T use it."

"I'll take that into consideration." His tone clearly said otherwise.

_I hope you enjoy what you're about to get, you fragger, _Sabine thought maliciously.

He smirked in perverse glee and then hit the button on his vambrace.

Sabine suddenly remembered that Ezra was wearing an Imperial helmet, painted by hers truly, and she winced. _Kriff, I hope he manages to get it off before it hurts him. _

And then another had her eyes widening even further. _Kanan's mask is made of plastoid too!_

_Ezra! Frag, I hope you're listening to me right now! Take off your helmet! Tell Kanan too!_

The Duchess activated again, its whining filling the room, and its rays of energy seeking targets. It found them in the plastoid alloy of Saxon's and the stormtroopers' armour and then continued out of the room. It was now set to seek out targets as far as a kilometre away in all directions, meaning it would take out every trooper in the entire Star Destroyer.

She looked down at the man now writhing on the floor at her feet and nearly out-of-control glee at seeing him suffer filled her. "This isn't enough power to kill you! Just to make you suffer! How does it feel?!" Her voice dripped with scorn and hatred and her eyes were hard.

"Sabine, stop!" rang out from two voices at once.

* * *

Ezra listened and waited.

Kanan sent a mental question mark, and Ezra sent back a mental shrug, implying he wasn't sure what was going on at the moment, but no one was screaming in pain right now, so that was a start.

It sounded like Sabine was doing what the speaker (whom he assumed was Tiber Saxon) wanted. But he knew his Sabine, and he trusted her not to do what it sounded like she was. Which meant she was probably doing the opposite and changing the Duchess to take out Imperial armour instead, like had been suggested in the meeting last night. And explained her obsessive calculations on the datapad.

Through his bond with her, he suddenly felt Sabine's concern for him, so, with a mental grimace in hopes that he was doing the right thing, he jumped past her light mental shield and listened in on her thoughts.

_"Ezra! Frag, I hope you're listening to me right now! Take off your helmet! Tell Kanan too!"_

It took him a moment to figure out why, but then he quickly took off his helmet and placed it quietly at his feet beside him. _"Kanan! Drop your mask!" _

It wasn't a moment too soon, for the Duchess activated again, throwing a blue glue above his head and electrical streaks flew through the air. One hit the helmet and it actually jumped and smoked.

* * *

_"Why?" _Kanan asked even as he did what Ezra 'suggested'. And then a second later, after watching his mask and the armour on the bodies of the troopers sizzle with electricity in the Force… _"Oh. Yeah. That would have sucked."_

Abandoning the mask to its fate, the elder Jedi turned his head. "Come on, Chop. I hope you're done. It's time to go."

"I'm finished," the droid beeped even as he disconnected from the computer system and then went flying out the door as fast as he could roll.

* * *

Ezra stared at his helmet wide eyed for a moment. _"Yep. That would most definitely have sucked."_ Shaking himself into action, he leapt up into the room above his head.

"Sabine, stop!" he called. He couldn't let her torture the thousands of troopers that lived on the ISD. It just wasn't right. A quick death was one thing, but this... This was just cruel.

He glanced at Bo-Katan, who'd called out the same thing at the same time, before focusing on Sabine. All that torture must have unhinged her a little, because her eyes were filled with maniacal righteousness.

"Mandalore must be free!" she said fiercely, turning her focus to him and off the writhing man on the ground.

Ezra ran over to her through the blue lightning streaks of energy that went past him harmlessly and put his hands on her shoulders, staring into her eyes. "It will be, I promise. But this isn't the way to do it, and you know it."

Sabine blinked, sanity returning to her eyes. She glanced down at the three men contorted on the decking and then looked shocked at what she had done. "Kriff," she whispered. "You're right, Ezra. I'm sorry."

He brushed her cheek tenderly. "It's okay, Sabine." He held out his lightsabre for her. "It's time to finally put this behind you."

Sabine stared at the lightsabre for a moment. _Yes, it is time. _She grabbed it, ignited the glowing green blade, and then slashed through the spinning weapon.

Then, just to make sure it stayed dead this time, she pushed the lightsabre into the side for half a minute, superheating the power core. "This is for my mother and brother," she said softly. And then, glancing at Bo-Katan, she slashed it one more time. "For Mandalore," she cried.

"For Mandalore," Bo-Katan, the Captain, and Ezra repeated.

Sabine shot a quick look of surprise at the Captain who was astonishingly still here.

The machine still tried to function, but the energy shooting out now was targeting electrical systems and running through the walls. A computer consol blew up, startling them, and then a bright orange fluid started leaking out of the screaming weapon.

"That can't be good," Ezra said as Sabine gave him back his lightsabre.

Sabine bent down and grabbed her helmet off the floor and plunked it on her head. "It's not. Time to go everybody." She nudged Saxon with a toe. "Except you, you Saxon aruetii." She whipped off a pair of binders from the back of his belt that he probably meant to use on her and snapped them around a wrist. She dragged him bodily along the floor, put the empty binder around a support column on the Duchess, and then closed it around his other wrist. "You can die with the weapon that you never should have used on my clan," she said coldly.

Ezra thought about stopping her for only half a second and then decided it wasn't worth it. The moron was fated to die anyway after everything he'd done to Sabine. She needed this closure and Ezra was willing to let her have it, brutal death or not.

Bo turned to the Commando Captain that was staring at Sabine and Ezra with what she assumed was either horror or admiration under his helmet. "If you value your men at all, you might want to evacuate the ship. This thing is going to blow. Oh, and you might want to consider changing your alliance back to the people you belong to. It's not going to be very healthy for the Imps around here anymore. And that's your Mand'alor speaking."

Jett sucked in an audible breath and nodded once after tearing his gaze off the girl who'd far exceeded his hopes of her and the boy in orange he was ninety-nine percent sure was the one who'd kicked him out of the transport yesterday. "Yes, My Lady. I'll get them. And my allegiance was already in question before this. I'm happy to return to my proper place as a Mandalorian. I did not like Tiber Saxon," he finished as an explanation.

Sabine, Bo-Katan, and Ezra were left gawking at the man as he spun around and dashed out of the room from the same door he'd entered it, followed by the troopers who'd just dragged themselves off the floor.

"Did that just happen?" Sabine asked Bo-Katan.

Bo shrugged as she bent down to pick up her helmet. "Anything is possible. And that one is obviously smart enough to follow the winning side."

"Speaking of smart enough," Ezra pointed out, "Perhaps we should leave as well?"

The girls nodded in their helmets and they all took off for the lift, jumping down to it.

They ignored the swearing and shouting coming from the left behind Tiber Saxon.

Ezra scooped up his helmet from the lift floor and called out to his beloved Master as he and the female flyers jumped down to the hangar floor, not bothering to try and make the lift function. _"Kanan. The weapon's power core's been breached. This whole place is going up. Get out of there."_

_"The data's wiped and Chopper and I are all ready on the way to the hangar. I have a whole herd of shaky troopers on my tail."_ Kanan didn't sound worried.

Ezra smirked as he waited at the hole in the floor for Kanan; he wasn't leaving without him. _"You might want to run a little faster. Things are going up as we speak. Sabine's enjoying it though,"_ Ezra said in amusement as he watched her watch things go boom all around them. The Walker, the transports, the consuls in the walls, even some of the crates; if it could, it was exploding.

"I'm glad someone's getting a kick out of this," Kanan said out loud as he ran up with Chopper right on his heels. "I can feel the energy crackling around me, and it's not a good feeling."

"We should probably go then," Ezra said dryly before they jumped out of the hangar as a group and flew down the underside of the Star Destroyer.

* * *

Fenn was almost deliriously relieved when he heard Bo over the comm again as he watched the remaining Super Commandoes retreat through a doorway and the surviving stormtroopers groan as they made sad attempts at getting up off the floor.

**"Fenn. It's time to go. Sabine's basically turned her weapon into a giant bomb. We don't want to be anywhere near here when it blows."**

"I had a feeling something like that was going on. We're leaving now," he said as he signaled to his squad to move out. "I'm glad you're okay. You had me worried for more than a moment there."

**"I'm fine, Fenn. Just a few jolts of electricity. Sabine's weapon is the most brilliantly brutal thing I've ever seen. One thing's for sure; it's a good thing she's on our side, because if she actually did work for the Empire, the galaxy would be whimpering at Palpatine's feet."**

Fenn snorted. "As long as she has her Jedi and her family, I can't see that day ever happening. But you take all of that away from her? You're right, the galaxy would be in for a serious wakeup call."

**"Does the Rebellion know what she's capable of?" **

"I doubt it. And as long as she has her moral compass, it's a moot point anyway," Fenn said "Aside from a somewhat unhealthy love for blowing things up, she's been rather tame as long as I've known her."

**"That is both reassuring and disappointing," **Bo laughed, just as their two groups met in midair, and then they continued to fly away as fast as they could from the Star Destroyer making alarming booming noises behind them.

* * *

When they met up with Fenn's group in the early morning darkness, who looked like they were only one or two members short of what they'd started with, Ezra asked the Protector he now considered one of his close friends, "How was your mission?"

Fenn sounded quite satisfied as he said over the comm, "Successful. Most of the troopers on board must have shown up to try and take us out. I'm sure we were outnumbered thirty to one to begin with, but as you can see, we won."

Ezra and Sabine chuckled at his smug tone.

Behind them, the Star Destroyer rumbled and shook with increasingly louder explosions as more and more systems were attacked by what was left of the Duchess.

"There's two more ISD's incoming," Chopper beeped over the comms. "And more flyers."

"Saxon or someone must have called for reinforcements," Bo-Katan said grimly as they all paused in midair and looked back towards Sundari and saw the Star Destroyers flying around and over the city's protective dome.

They also saw a group of flyers in white armour now quickly catching up to them just in time to watch the early morning light show.

Since Bo-Katan didn't seem alarmed by the Super Commandoes joining their group, Fenn and the others in his squad refrained from pulling blasters on them. There was one at the front of the small pack of six men who bore the insignia of a Captain that Fenn hadn't seen in his hangar battle. _Perhaps Bo had had time to talk to this man and sway him to her side? _

Everyone watched in silence as Saxon's ISD exploded spectacularly, sending shrapnel in every direction, including at the two new threats. But that just bounced off the ISD shields without doing any damage, unfortunately.

Bo-Katan glanced around at the warriors surrounding her, a sense of triumph and determination filling her, and set her comm to speak externally so all could hear. "Who's up for round two?"

* * *

_Mando'a translations:_

_Resol'nare – Six Actions. A way of life. 1. Wear the armour. 2. Speak the language. 3. Defend oneself and one's family. 4. Raise your children as Mandalorians. 5. Contribute to the clan's welfare. 6. Rally to any cause without question when called upon by the Mand'alor. _


	10. Super Commando Sized Mistakes

**Super Commando Sized Mistakes: **

**‘**You need Sabine Wren**.’**

Thrawn’s condescending words to Tiber Saxon yesterday repeated over and over in Jett’s mind as he flew towards the girl in question with his few remaining men on his heels.

He found it very amusing that Thrawn had unknowingly brought upon the downfall of the Governor of Mandalore. _Or maybe he did it on purpose. Who knows what’s going on in that blue head of his? Maybe he’s secretly working against the Empire._

_Nah. _

Jett chuckled at his absurd thought. There was no way such a dedicated and decorated Grand Admiral would actually be working on his own agenda.

**“Sir,”** a voice in Jett’s helmet brought him back to the present. **“I know you said you’d explain, but what are we doing? Why does it feel like we’re deserting our post to join the enemy?”**

Normally, Jett would have turned around to address his men, but the ticking timebomb of an ISD behind them inspired him to keep flying forwards. “We’re not deserting, Rontil. We’re joining our new Mand’alor, like all good, honourable Mandalorians should be doing. If any of you have a problem with that, feel free to fly back to the Revengar and make an attempt at rescuing Tiber Saxon from his own stupidity.”

**“Uhhhh, no, I’m good,”** Rontil said quickly.

**“Yep, me too,”** Preyton added.

**“And me,”** Adnar put in his two credits.

**“Following the Mand’alor is definitely preferable,”** Shu-Atin said with clear relief in his voice that Jett hadn’t lost his mind or honour.

**“Agreed. Tiber was getting on my nerves,”** Brokar admitted last.

“That’s an understatement,” Jett muttered just as they caught up to the large group of flying warriors containing Mand’alor Kryze and Sabine Wren. Jett’s eyes were inevitably drawn to the younger woman adorned in the most outrageously coloured armour he’d ever seen that somehow worked despite the plethora of colours and designs. Even so, he was glad the colours were muted in the dark; they were just a little too much for his taste.

**“Who are the flyers without armour?”** Rontil asked.

**“They’re Jedi,”** Brokar said before Jett could. **“I saw them on Krownest. Seemed pretty friendly with the Wrens.”**

**“I saw the boy on Concorde Dawn,”** Preyton piped in.

**“I think the younger one is attached to the Wren girl,”** Brokar added, **“based on how they protected each other.”**

Jett remembered those days with a wince. Yet more orders from a Saxon that he hadn’t really agreed with. And Brokar was right; the young Jedi and Sabine Wren were clearly protective of each other. The way she’d fought so hard to hang on to him as they flew on her single jetpack. The way he’d thrown her his lightsabre so she could fight Gar Saxon. The way he’d reasoned with her only a few minutes ago. There was no doubt in his mind that they were very good friends at the very least.

His upbringing said he should be sickened by the connection, but the evidence of such loyalty was hard to dismiss as being wrong.

It was a pity, though, that such an prime catch of a female might already be taken. Not that Jett would seriously pursue her, she wasn't really his type. (Taller and darker and stunning purple eyes came to mind.) But the new Countess Wren would definitely be drawing the attention of every unattached male in the very near future. The Jedi boy would most likely have a fight on his hands to keep her. 

Unless they were already married. 

Jett had no idea if that was the case or not. 

**“I wonder what Tristan thinks of his sister being so close to a Jedi?”** Adnar muttered. (Being only a year older than the mentioned boy, they had been pretty close. Adnar had been pretty bummed about losing his buddy because Gar Saxon had forced Tristan to choose between his family and his squad.)

_What a stupid move. Of course Tristan was going to choose his family. _

**“We’ll have to ask him the next time we see him,”** Jett said just as there was a massive explosion from behind him.

Whirling around, they watched The Revengar light up the dark in a truly spectacular fashion.

**“Man, am I glad we weren’t on that,”** Shu-Atin said in awe.

_Seconded, _Jett thought. _Tiber Saxon is officially a goner after that. Thank the Manda. _

**“You think most of the Imps made it off?”** Rontil asked.

Jett shrugged. “Does it matter? Any Imperial who survives this day is going to end up a prisoner anyhow. A fighting death is preferable to that.”

**“True.”**

A voice speaking externally from their inner helmet dialogue caught the Super Commandoes’ attention.

“Who’s up for round two?”

Jett and his men faced the Kryze female. Before anyone else could say anything, he switched to external speakers and said firmly, “We are. What do you want us to do?”

* * *

_Yavin IV..._

Hera dashed into the Ghost, still subtly thrumming with adrenaline from the afternoon’s activities, and a small grin of satisfaction curling her lips upwards.

The training exercises in the new X-Wing fighters had been very successful and she felt confident that her new Phoenix Squadron were gelling well. Having Wedge and Hobbie still with her and familiar with her commands helped a lot. She was extremely grateful the two young men had survived the battle over Atollon, having become quite fond of them and kind of mothered them the way she was wont to do with anyone she felt deserved her protection. 

She’d loved flying the swift little fighter and was quite eager to test it out in a real battle situation. Not that she was revenge oriented, exactly, but she wouldn’t mind hurting the Empire a bit after what they’d done to Chopper Base. All of the lost personnel and pilots were going to weigh on her for a long, long time.

With only a few minutes before she was expected to report to High Command about her afternoon and her opinions on the new fighter, she spent the bare minimum of time in the refresher, washing off the perspiration and grease from flying and tinkering with the X-Wings that didn’t sound quite right to her before she let them leave the ground. She missed having Chopper around to expedite some of the adjustments, but working on ships (especially such beautiful fighters) never felt like a chore. 

After dressing in a fresh flight suit, she grabbed a ration bar from the galley for her supper and then made her way back down the hallway to the cockpit. The Ghost was too quiet with everyone gone, and felt empty to her. Even Zeb was busy, having immediately been put to work scouting the jungle around the ancient Massassi Temple and training new recruits in jungle conditions. (It didn't take long for High Command to figure out that Zeb was an accomplished soldier and was comfortable in the suffocating jungle, since his homeworld was similar to Yavin IV.)

She had a hand and a foot on the ladder in the cockpit when a blinking light on the console caught her attention.

Changing her momentum from down to forwards, she walked over to the pilot chair, nibbling on the nearly tasteless bar of useful energy, and sat in her favourite spot after pushing the blinking button. _Please let it be Kanan. _

It was.

A recording of her mate popped up in holo form and she couldn’t help but smile at it rather dopily. _Force, __I miss him. _They’d only been apart for three days but it felt like forever.

His masked head was turned away from her, apparently looking away at something, and there was the smallest hint of a smile on the corner of his mouth. _Something’s amusing. And I bet it’s the kids. That’s definitely his ‘the kids are being ridiculous again’ smirk. _There was a subtle lift to his ponytail that indicated he was outside and in a breeze. His arms were crossed over his chest in a fashion that emphasized the broad width of his shoulders and the strong muscles of his chest. _Stars, he's so handsome. How did I get so lucky? _

And then the holo recording started. Kanan turned his focus down, presumably to Chopper, and frowned in disappointment, sighing softly. **"Leave her a message then. Tell her that we are going into battle in a few hours and that I will call her back as soon as we're safe."**

She hit the button to freeze the image before it could disappear, her smile from before long gone and now replaced with a look of longing. _Oh, Kanan. I’m sorry I wasn’t here for your call. __I wish I was there with you. _X-Wings were fun and all, but she’d much rather be with her mate and kids than here on this overly green moon with the looming giant red planet above that occasionally gave her the creeps, like it was haunted or something. 

She closed her eyes for a moment, slumping slightly, the ration bar in her hand forgotten. Glancing at the computer, she saw that the message was sent four and a half hours ago, which meant that he was probably in whatever battle he was talking about right at this moment. _Please be okay. Please let the kids be okay. _

She was very tempted to try and contact Chopper, just to soothe her fears, but thought better of it in case her droid was occupied with something else important. _He said he’d call when they’re done. I can wait till then. _

Sighing, she turned off the holo comm and rose heavily from the pilot’s chair of her beloved freighter, slowly trudging the few steps over to the ladder again, taking another nibble of the protein bar.

_I sure hope everything works out on Mandalore. _

_Did they rescue Sabine’s father?_

_Will the Imperials retaliate?_

_Is that what they’re fighting over now?_

_Stars, I hope my family is all right._

_Of course they are. They’re highly skilled and strong in the Force Jedi and a very well trained Mando. Nothing to worry about. _

_Wish I could give them backup, anyway. _

_Wait._

Hera paused halfway down the ladder, eyes opening wide as new thoughts jumped into her mind.

_Backup. _

_I sent Ketsu to get backup parts for the shield generator on Chopper Base. _

_That was four days ago. _

_Oh, kriff._

_She should be almost back to the base by now._

_Which probably still has Imps crawling all over it. Or at least probe droids waiting for someone stupid to come back._

_I don’t think anyone remembered to comm her and tell her that we lost the base. _

_Poodoo._

The twi’lek Captain scrambled back up the ladder and rushed over to the console. She typed in Ketsu’s encrypted comm channel as fast as the fingers of her free hand could fly.

And then she waited with baited breath for the younger woman to answer, drumming her fingers on the multi-buttoned surface impatiently. She was too tense to even bother to sit down.

It took about a minute for the call to travel across space and inspire a response from the Mandalorian ex bounty hunter. Hera barely breathed during that time, petrified that she’d be the cause of losing yet another of her people. And her poor protein bar became somewhat crushed in the death grip her hand had on it.

The blue overtoned, caf coloured face of the girl in question finally appeared in the holo emitter and Hera almost fell in relief. She did sink into her chair, but made herself sit up straight and tall. “Ketsu, thank the stars.”

Many many lightyears away, Ketsu raised a curious brow at the bluish holo of her Captain that turned the twi'lek more teal than light green. “That’s quite the greeting, Hera. Is something wrong?”

Hera nodded once. “Unfortunately. And in the chaos, I’m afraid I forgot about you.”

“Now you have me worried,” the purple eyed Mando said cautiously.

Hera took a deep breath. “Sorry. I’ll explain in a second. But first, where are you?”

Ketsu glanced at the readout on her navi computer. “About ten hours from base. I had a few delays with the snarky smuggler you sent me to." _Though he was quite good at satisfying me in other ways. But what was up with his obsession with his capes?_ "And I had to take a creative route home. I actually just passed Mandalore about an hour ago, believe it or not.”

Hera raised a brow. “That is a creative route home. Imperial problems?”

Ketsu rolled her eyes. “What else?”

Hera smiled in commiseration. “Been there. But you got the parts from Lando, snarkiness and all?”

Ketsu laughed. "Yeah. I got them. What a character." _And bloody sexy in a spoiled prince kind of way._

"He is that." _And that's putting it lightly, the poodoo dealing nerfherder. _(Hera didn't have many fond memories of Calrissian, but remembering how it felt to punch him in the family jewels would always bring a smile to her face.)

“So what’s going on?” Ketsu asked, watching the little hologram twi’lek lose a little of her assured posture as she asked the question.

Hera took a moment to answer, but when she did, Ketsu’s emotions dropped along with her jaw. “We lost Chopper Base. Thrawn found us, using Kallus as bait. The planned attack on Lothal with Dodonna’s fleet has been indefinitely postponed based on the fact that both of our cells have lost over seventy-five percent of our forces, including Commander Sato. We’ve joined Base One to regroup.”

“Shabla osik!”

“Precisely.” (Hera had heard Sabine and Rex cursing often enough to know what that meant.)

Intelligent brain already working through the implications, Ketsu brought her ship to a sudden stop, pulling up from hyperspace as she talked. “I’m going the wrong way then, aren’t I?”

“I’m afraid so. I’m just very relieved you encountered the delays you did or you’d have flown right into Imperial territory by now. And that would have been my fault. I can’t believe I forgot about you. I’m very sorry.”

Ketsu smiled at Hera reassuringly. “Don’t worry about it. My Shadow Castor is very good at making quick exits from sticky situations. Besides, I’m sure you’ve had a million other things on your mind.”

Hera laughed sadly. “That is, unfortunately, about the gist of it.” She reached over to the console again. “I’m sending you the coordinates and the pass codes to Base One.”

“Thanks. I’m guessing that your Jedi made it out okay, considering you’re not a weepy mess?”

Hera raised a brow at the other woman who had a teasing light in her eyes, smiling slightly. “Captains aren’t allowed the indulgence of turning into blubbering females, but yes, my Jedi are fine. They’re on Mandalore, in fact, helping Sabine rescue her... Wait. Did you say you just passed Mandalore?”

Ketsu nodded, frowning, sensing where Hera was going with this. “Yes. But I’m not exactly welcome there.”

“You’re not?”

The Mandalorian shook her head. “There was a small incident that resulted in blowing up a good chunk of the Imperial Academy some years ago. I’m kind of considered a persona non grata, to put it in terms you would understand.”

“Oh. Right. Sabine mentioned her status issues when she told me about why she hates the Empire so much.”

Ketsu was somewhat shocked. “Sabine told you about that?”

Hera nodded. “She did. We had a long conversation a few years ago. She really needed to let some of her nightmares free; they were eating her from the inside out.”

“Hunh. I guess Sabine trusts you even more than I realized.”

“She does.” Hera smiled, her eyes soft. “She’s like a daughter to me.”

Ketsu snorted. “I’m sure you’re a better mother than her real one. Countess Wren isn’t exactly the most affectionate of people. Did you say something about them rescuing somebody?”

“Yes. Sabine’s father.”

“Right. Sabie told me about that. The Saxon bastards have him locked up to keep her clan in line. I’m glad they’re finally doing something about getting him back. Alrich Wren is a good man. He was always nice to me when I was a kid. He taught me how to paint, in fact.” Ketsu smiled at the memories of better days than she'd ever spent in her own home. 

“Sure you don’t want to go help out? Kanan sent me a message about a battle. It’s probably still in progress.”

Ketsu frowned harder, thinking. _Is it worth the risk? It HAS been forever since I got to fight any sort of real battle, and that would be fun. I can probably get in and out again before anyone figures out who I am. _She focused on Hera again. “All right. I’ll go. I could use the exercise anyway. I’ve been on this ship for days.”

Hera beamed. “That’s the spirit. I’ll send you the comm frequencies for Chopper and Ezra’s ship, in case you can’t get a hold of Sabine.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you in another day or so, depending on how things go on Mandalore.”

“That’s fine. Good luck.”

Ketsu nodded in acknowledgement and then disconnected the comm. She sat back into her chair as memories from her past came rushing back, inspired by the mention of the Academy.

A pair of beautiful durasteel grey eyes came to mind immediately, reminding her of her biggest regret from her quick flight from the Imperial school. _I wonder what Jett’s doing now? Is he an Imp? Or did he foreswear his clan and go his own way? Does he miss me? Does he even remember me? We only went on a couple of dates before I had to flee with Sabine; he’s probably forgotten me entirely and gotten married by now. But he sure was good at kissing. Whoever he settled with is a very lucky girl. _

Ketsu sighed and pushed the thought of the handsome boy from her thoughts. Too many years had passed, she wasn't the same person as that naive girl who'd doodled little hearts with JH all over her datapad, and she’d more than moved on to a different chapter of her life to dwell on something that had happened so long ago.

Focusing on the controls of her ship, she turned it around and sent it back towards the planet that had exiled her. _I hope I don't regret this. _

On the Ghost, Hera smiled to herself as she climbed down from the cockpit once more, now late for her meeting but not caring too much. She’d just sent her family a little more backup, and it helped to settle her mind. Ketsu Onyo was a fierce fighter and smart enough to not get caught up in something she couldn’t handle.

And Sabine was sure to be happy to see her friend. As far as Hera knew, the girls hadn’t done anything but talk over the comm for months. _You’re welcome, Sabine. _

* * *

_Mandalore..._

Fenn froze at the words from the Commando Captain. 

_How dare he act as though we weren't enemies five minutes ago! _

_How dare he even show up here! _

_Maybe he's playing us and we're all fools! _

The temporary restraint that Fenn had been practicing in regards to his sworn enemies, the Mandalorian traitors who had massacred his Protectors, went flying out the airlock and he lunged through the sky towards the white armoured Captain that had spoken. “Why should we trust you, you Mando killing shabuir?!”

Fenn had his hands wrapped around Hark’s neck and was squeezing the life out of him before he’d even spit out the word ‘why’.

The rest of the group was in shock for a few precious seconds.

Bo was astonished that Fenn had snapped.

Jett’s men instantly drew their blasters, every one pointed at Fenn, prompting Bo’s people to retaliate.

Ezra glanced at Kanan. _“Uhhhhhh. should we stop them?”_

Kanan frowned. _“Not yet. I think they need to work this out on their own, if possible. But be ready to do some serious disarming.”_

_"Got it."_

Choking on the air that couldn’t make it either in or out of his lungs, Hark drew his own blaster and shoved it into Fenn’s stomach.

Feeling it, Fenn growled and squeezed harder.

Sensing that this was going to turn ugly really quickly, Bo drew the Darksabre and ignited it. She flew forwards and stuck the crackling blade between the men, catching Fenn’s attention in a hurry. “That’s enough, Fenn! Let him go!”

Fenn instantly regretted his rash reaction. Not the neck squeezing part, because that had felt really satisfying, but the fact that he’d lost his temper in front of his lady. He let go of the Captain and backed off with his hands in the air. “I’m sorry, Bo. It’s just... He’s one of THEM.”

Bo kept the Darksabre trained on the Captain until he’d holstered his blaster, as well as the rest of his men. Then she turned her focus on Fenn, but kept the Darksabre in her hand as a reminder to the volatile people present that she was in charge here. “I understand, Fenn. But we have to give them a chance. You worked for the Empire as well, a couple years ago, so you have no right to blame these men for their allegiance. The important thing is that they’re here now.”

The Protector’s fists were clenched in continued anger, but he forced them to relax at her words. He couldn’t bear to disappoint her and lose his chance at winning Bo, no matter what he had to live with. “I suppose you’re right, but I don’t know if I can work with people who murdered my men in cold blood.”

Jett hadn’t known why he’d been attacked, but he was starting to get an idea. “Are you talking about the Protectors of Concord Dawn?” he interjected.

Fenn nodded stiffly. “Yes. You slaughtered my men!”

Jett shook his helmeted head emphatically. “No! We didn’t! Gar Saxon did that on his own with Imperial droids. Our Captain at the time refused to do his dirty work for him. Saxon shot him. I’ve only been Captain for the last couple of months. The Saxon brothers had a shared habit of killing off any of us that protested their commands. And we were nearly all Clan Saxon, so we had to follow orders. We had to go to the Academy. We had to become his Imperial puppets. We literally had no choice. It was obey or be killed. Going dar’manda wasn’t even an option because we were then forced to hunt down anyone who tried to run. These men with me, we’re literally all that’s left of Clan Saxon that aren’t old, non-warriors, or under the age of sixteen.”

“Osik,” Bo breathed, copied by many others.

_Shabla, that might even be worse than my story_, Sabine thought in sympathy.

“Kriff, that sucks,” Ezra said aloud.

Fenn stared at the man in shock. _Everything I thought was wrong. All of that hate for the Commandoes, for nothing. _“I’m sorry I tried to strangle you. I was mistaken.”

Jett inclined his head in acknowledgement of the apology. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve had much worse.”

_I can imagine, with Gar Saxon as their leader for most of their lives. I doubt a more brutal and unforgiving soldier has ever lived. _“Now I regret targeting your men so zealously in the hangar a few minutes ago. I wish I’d known,” Fenn said with deep regret in his tone.

"And out in the desert yesterday," Bo added with a wince. 

“That, unfortunately, was inevitable," Jett said with a mournful heart that he kept out of his tone out of too much practice. "If my men weren’t quick enough to keep themselves alive, then there’s not more I can do to change that. Fortunately, I only lost two more since yesterday. My second, Rontil, said the battle was fair enough, so they passed on honourably.”

Fenn nodded once, surprised at the wisdom and acceptance of the other man.

Bo was happy that they had worked things out, but everyone seemed to be forgetting that they still had more battles to win this day. “This is all well and good, gentlemen, but there are more ISDs to take care of, and they’re not just going to sit over there by the dome for long. The time to strike is now while we still have some vague element of surprise. Unfortunately, all of our fighters are otherwise occupied at the moment and by the time they get here, we could be surrounded by TIEs.”

“I have a few ideas about that,” Sabine said with a confident grin inside her helmet.

Bo nodded at the girl who’d proved to be well versed in battle tactics and creative in tight situations. “I’m listening.”

* * *

_Mando’a translations:_

_Shu-Atin – A play on words that would essentially mean unbreakable. _

_Brokar – to beat or victor._

_Adnar - roughly translates to my child. A nickname that would mean the baby of the family. _


	11. How To Appropriate a Star Destroyer (part 1)

**How To Appropriate a Star Destroyer (part 1):**

“How does your own little fleet of ISD’s sound to you?”

Bo nearly laughed (and there were quite a few skeptical snorts over the comms to back her up), but then she realized that Sabine was dead serious. “Uhhhhhhh.” _What do I even say to that? We’re good but we’re not THAT good. Blowing them up is going to be hard enough. Hijacking them without doing too much damage is simply ridiculous. _

_Isn’t it?_

By the Mand’alor’s continued silence, Sabine realized that she’d need to explain further to win her over to the idea. And she didn’t have a lot of time to do it. “Do you trust me?”

_I do! _Ezra thought rather enthusiastically, even if he had no idea how Sabine expected to… capture… five Star Destroyers. But this was Sabine, and as far as he was concerned, his girl could perform miracles with her genius mind and her never quit attitude.

Kanan echoed Ezra’s thought, even if his mouth quirked up at the irony of a Jedi trusting a Mandalorian.

“Uhhhhhhh.” _Sort of? Mostly?_ Bo was once again reduced to sounding stupidly indecisive and she didn’t like it. But what was she supposed to do when the girl kept asking questions that came with complicated answers? She glanced at Fenn for help, not even sure why she did it. (It’s not like she was becoming attached to him or anything. Ha.) He nodded his helmeted head, and somehow, that was enough for her. “Yes. I trust you.”

Sabine nearly sighed in relief. “Thank you. I’ll explain while we fly.” And with that, the colourful girl took off in the direction of the two Star Destroyers now hovering around the biggest part of the wreckage of Saxon’s ISD. She had a feeling the comms were going insane on the Imperial channels as the Imps tried to figure out what was going on within the dome and what had happened to the Revengar. They needed to take advantage of the temporary confusion while they had the chance.

Ezra, Kanan, and Chopper were right on her heels, flying through the sky that wasn’t quite as pitch black as it had been as the planet rotated them ever closer to sunrise.

Bo-Katan and company essentially all looked at each other and shrugged before flying after them.

“So what’s your big plan?” Ezra asked, too curious to wait any longer. (After flying for approximately five seconds.)

He wasn’t alone.

“Yes, Wren, tell us,” Countess Rook demanded.

Sabine was only too happy to oblige, but first… “Just a sec. I have to make a call.”

Leaving the others to stew in their curiosity for a minute, Sabine switched her comm over to the command center back at Bo-Katan’s camp but left her helmet on external speakers for the benefit of those around her. “Father, are you there?”

**“I’m here. What do you need?”**

She smiled briefly at his efficient question, foregoing any other unnecessary but fatherly questions like ‘how are you?’ _Mother has him well trained. _

_Mother… _

_Osik._

She pushed back the wave of sorrow for later. “I need you to have someone bring Ezra’s Kom’rk” (they all refused to call it by Maul’s title of the Nightbrother, and Ezra had yet to rename the ship) “and the Jai’galaar to Sundari, and summon the backup fleet to distract and pester but not destroy the ISDs orbiting Mandalore. Have them target the long-range communication satellites first.” (Said fleet was sitting just outside the sensor range of the orbiting ISDs.)

Bo raised a brow at the command as she heard it, but she didn’t counter it, trusting Sabine as she said she would.

**“Brian Kryze is summoning the fleet now. The satellites should be down in five minutes or less. And as for our ships, they’re already here at the Kryze camp. I had a feeling we’d need them.” **

“You’re the best.”

**“Thanks, Daughter. I’ll be there as fast as possible with the Jai’galaar and Ezra’s Kom’rk.”**

Sabine’s eyes widened in alarm at that; her father was supposed to stay safe at the camp. “But you’re…”

**“I’m coming to help. I’ll be safe enough piloting a Kom’rk, Sabine. Worry not.”**

She huffed. “Fine. I’ll give you further instructions when you get here.”

**“Understood.”**

Bo had waited long enough, and they were rapidly gaining on their targets by the dome. “All right, Sabine, what’s your big plan?”

Sabine looked over at the blue and silver armoured woman who had flown up to be beside her. “First, we split into two teams, one for each ISD…”

* * *

As Bo listened to Sabine’s plan, her eyes grew wider and her respect for the girl’s incredible mind for battle strategy solidified into a solid trust, because what she was proposing was entirely feasible. (The fact that the plans relied on their Jedi companions inspired a grimace, though.)

In fact, by the time Sabine was finished outlining her plan, every single person present in their group firmly believed that what they were about to attempt was entirely possible.

Sabine was that convincing.

And Ezra was practically beaming inside his helmet from his pride in her. _I would happily follow that woman to the end of the universe and back._

* * *

Ketsu tried comming Sabine’s personal channel first, but only got a busy signal. That inspired a huff of disappointment. And since the mere thought of talking to Hera’s incredibly disrespectful droid left her feeling rather violent, she tried for Ezra’s Kom’rk next.

And was successful.

“Hello? Is this the comm frequency for an appallingly painted red and black Gauntlet?” she asked in Basic, hoping that Ezra was there to hear her teasing.

**“Hello? Who’s this? And yes it is, with equally horrid interior decorating and all.”**

Ketsu smiled at the familiar voice she hadn’t heard for years but would always remember fondly. “I’m hurt that you don’t remember me, Alrich,” she said teasingly, switching to her native Mando’a.

**“Ketsu! My little protégé! I didn’t recognize you speaking Basic, I’m sorry. And you’re voice has matured a bit, I think. A little huskier.”**

“That’s all right,” she said laughingly. “And I hope that’s a good thing?”

**“Of course it is,” **he replied warmly. **“Males go nuts for a voice like that.”**

She smirked. “I have noticed that men are quite easy to talk into doing things my way.”

Alrich laughed over the comm. **“You always did have a way with the boys, little Ketsu.”**

_Still do, if I do say so myself. Lando’s probably STILL recovering his strength from the workout I gave him. _

But talking about her love life wasn’t why she was calling, so she changed the subject. “Boys aside, I seem to be flying right towards Mandalore. My C.O. says there’s a battle going on and I happen to be in the area. Do you guys need any help?”

**“Oh. Most likely. Sabine’s hatching up something crazy but rather inspired.”**

“Then I’m definitely in. The crazier Sabine’s plan is, the more fun we have.” Ketsu grinned in anticipation as Alrich chuckled in agreement. “My E.T.A. is about forty-five minutes. I’ll comm you back just before I pop out of hyperspace for an update and location.”

**“Sounds good. It’s nice to talk you again, Ketsu.”**

“You too.” Ketsu closed down the comm signal and settled back into her chair with a smile. She’d forgotten how comforting it was to talk to a fellow Mando who didn’t automatically despise her.

* * *

Ezra, Sabine, Fenn, three ex super commandoes, and the team from Clan Rook flew for the bridge of the ISD on the left. Kanan, Chopper, Bo-Katan, Captain Hark, the last two commandoes, and the Kryze team made for the ISD on the right.

With the last minute of jetpack assisted flight, Ezra used the time to chat with his Master.

_“Hey, Kanan?”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“So… Where would you say hijacking a Star Destroyer falls under the Jedi code?”_

Kanan nearly chuckled aloud at his Padawan’s sass filled question. _“Well… I think we’re going to have to go with it falls under the category of ‘for the greater good… sort of’.” _

Ezra smirked inside his helmet. _“That’s what I thought.”_

_“Just try not to blur the lines too much. I’m not entirely sure this would be considered the will of the Force, but I’m not sensing anything that says it isn’t either. For now, it seems content with our path as long as we remember that we’re committing acts for the sake of this war that as peace-loving Jedi, we would not normally even contemplate.”_

Ezra sobered instantly. _“I understand, Master. There’s been too many deaths already.”_

_“Exactly. You’re a good Jedi, Ezra, remember that.”_

_“Thank you, Kanan. You know that means a lot to me.”_

_"I know. I know you still need to hear it sometimes.”_

Ezra spent half a moment remembering just why that was before he forcibly pushed back the familiar wave of guilt. _“So do you, Kanan. You’re a good Jedi. The best even.”_

Kanan scoffed good-naturedly. _“Considering the extreme lack of Jedi to choose from at the moment, that’s not saying much.”_

As Ezra’s group approached the bridge of their target he sent his Master a mental eye roll. _“Shush. You know what I mean. Even if we were surrounded by every Jedi that ever lived, I’d still consider you the best.”_

Kanan’s nearly choked on the swell of emotion that filled his chest. _“Ezra… “_

_“You can hug me later,” _the boy teased as he ignited his lightsabre. _“Time to earn our dinner.”_

Kanan pulled himself together and realized that his team was also only seconds away from the huge observation windows of his target. _“Right. Show time.” _He ignited his lightsabre, the Kyber crystal within humming into the Force a little louder in anticipation, and Kanan slashed at the first transparisteel window.

* * *

Ezra flew around the entire curve of the bridge viewports at the fastest possible speed, burying his green lightsabre in the transparent material in a horizontal line right across the center of each, skillfully jumping the framework without damage on purpose. Behind him, as each window was weakened, a Mandalorian flew through it feet first, crashing into the bridge with a gusto that startled the people within.

By the time Ezra reached the window on the far side of the half circle that looked into the small side room that contained the weapons and starfighter stations, more than a score of heavily armed Mandalorian warriors had landed inside the bridge of the ISD and were already shooting anything that breathed, lighting up the space with a blue glow. Only those few who instantly put their hands up in surrender were spared a stunning. 

Ezra slashed through the last viewport and pushed it into the small room with the Force, right onto the startled officers contained within. The two men were knocked out by the sudden impact as they and the transparisteel pieces flew out into the chaos of the main chamber and all the way down into the pit. Ezra flew in and landed on solid decking, grateful to back on his feet. He pulled his blaster with his free hand and was running down the length of the corridor in only moments, joining the others who’d already headed this way to stun anyone deeper in the command center of the ISD. He also kept an eye out for Sabine while he was at it.

* * *

Sabine crashed through the first window Ezra slashed, landing in the side room on the right that contained the defense and shuttle control stations. She’d stunned the officers before they could even think about touching a button. Then she took off at a bolt for the communications station diagonally across the way and a bit to the right inside the main foyer. The second she cleared the bulkhead, she had a line of sight on the communications officers and took them out as they were craning their heads around to see what all the crashing noise was about.

Trusting in the rest of her team to take care of all the Imperials behind her, she kept running deeper into the command center, taking out a couple more officers in the foyer before they could raise an alarm or even think about drawing their blasters. Fenn joined her as she approached the security room.

Sabine stood to one side of the door and Fenn took the other. He hit the door control and they stepped partially into the doorway, blasters taking out the half dozen technicians and officers in only moments. The unconscious bodies slumped to the floor or over their workstations bonelessly, prompting a smirk from the pair of likeminded warriors.

As a team, they stepped into the room filled with monitors and moved to the door off to the right. Unless someone had randomly changed the design of an ISD, which was highly unlikely, this room contained the main holo station for the ship. If anyone was in there, talking to whomever, they were in for a rude surprise.

* * *

Caressing the trigger of her blasters, Bo nodded to Kar and he hit the button with a fist. They peeked around the corners of the doorway. She wasn’t surprised to see the captain of the ship standing at the holotable, talking to a life-sized image.

What she was surprised at was WHO the image was.

“… done well informing me. I will leave Coruscant shortly. Jarrus and his annoying little Padawan have eluded me for the last time.”

Bo cursed mentally. _Shabla. Five minutes too slow. Now we’ve got about nine hours until the ‘fun’ arrives. I was hoping for a little more time than that. And definitely not with THAT man in command of the enemy fleet._

The captain bowed his head to the unmistakable, hulking, black masked and caped figure of Darth Vader. “Very good, My Lord. We will stop all traffic off the planet to prevent their escape.”

“I don’t think so.” Bo switched one of her blasters over to deadly and shot the holotable. Vader’s image flickered out just as he raised his helmeted gaze to the doorway. There was no question in Bo’s mind that Vader had seen her and would bring an appropriately sized fleet with him to deal with whatever was going on on Mandalore.

The captain spun around as Bo and Kar strolled into the room. He visibly blanched as he realized just who was on his ship, but made a valiant effort at playing it cool. “Countess Kryze, I believe?”

Bo smiled with a whole lot of teeth inside her helmet. “That is correct, Captain…?”

“Tigfeld, at your service, My Lady,” he answered, heavy on the sarcasm.

“Oh, you have no idea how accurate that statement just was, Captain Tigfeld,” Bo told the very tense blond haired man with glee. She gestured with her blaster towards the doorway. “Come, back out to the bridge.”

Tigfeld’s upper lip curled in distaste at taking orders from a Mando, but he marched his stiff form out in front of her.

Back in the security room, the unconscious Imps were already being dragged out of the room by their feet or wrists or armpits by Bo’s warriors. In the hallway, even more unconscious officers were being dragged from further rooms and towards the pits, were they were being dumped in without care to injury or space issues.

As Bo passed Captain Hark, she nodded towards the turbolift door. “Station your men in the lift. No one comes up to the bridge. Give whatever excuse you have to. Or knock them out. Don’t care.”

Hark nodded. “Understood.” He turned and barked out orders to his men who were dragging Imps by the ankles. The two white armoured men dropped their burdens and jogged over to the lift, disappearing inside. Hark grabbed an ankle from each of the two abandoned officers and dragged them both in a nearly effortless show of strength.

Captain Tigfeld had to be prodded to jump down into the pit on the left, which had a fraction more empty space than the other side. “I demand to know what you think you’re doing!” he said as he looked up at the circle of blaster welding Mandalorians that now guarded every officer from the command level of the ISD. He startled slightly when he noticed a scarred and snowy eyed man not dressed in the usual Mando armour amidst the circle of guards. A man who also happened to have a lightsabre blatantly hanging off his belt. The same man that Darth Vader was hunting.

Kanan smirked at the Captain, casually twirling his blaster around a finger. “Isn’t it obvious, Captain? We’re hijacking your ship. And you’re going to help us.”

* * *

Sabine paced the central bridge slowly and deliberately, broken transparisteel crunching underfoot, looking down into the pits on either side, reading the contempt and fear on the faces of the trapped Imperials as she waited for the rest of the crumpled forms to wake up from the mild stunning. To the ones already awake and shifting restlessly, she said, “I don’t recommend moving in any way suspicious; we’re all more than a little trigger happy here,” she warned with just a hint of cheek that made Ezra chuckle silently as he found an empty spot against a window frame and leaned back against it.

Her badass warrior goddess persona was such a turn on.

Sabine paused her menacing pace only momentarily when the comm in her helmet buzzed, indicating a call on her private channel. She answered it with a blink of her eyes thanks to the advanced computer in her helmet that ran her H.U.D. and comm systems. “Yes?”

**“We’re nearly there,” **her father’s voice answered cheerily. **“What do you want us to do?”**

Sabine was amazed that ten minutes had already passed so quickly. “Just hang back for now. Maybe find some clouds to hover in or something. I need you to be bait and I need it to look real. Having you hanging out by the ISD’s is not going to be very convincing.”

Alrich laughed. “**I guess not. Comm me when you want me to show up.”**

“Will do. Thanks, Father.”

**“Oh, Sabine!” **He caught her just as she was about to close the channel.

“Yes?”

**“One more thing; Ketsu is on her way. She was in the area and was sent here to assist you. E.T.A. is approximately thirty-five minutes.”**

“Okaaaaay? Unexpected. But not unwelcome. If she contacts you again, tell her to meet our fleet in orbit.”

**“That’s what I thought. Talk to you soon.”**

“Kay.” As soon as she ended the call, another one chimed a request for attention. _That’s probably Ezra, wanting to know what diverted my attention. _She answered without looking at the frequency, her attention caught by a groaning officer as he woke up sprawled over a workstation below her. “What’s up, babe?”

A feminine laugh was the response she received.

_Oops. _Sabine winced. “Sorry. Wrong person.”

She could still hear the laughter in Bo-Katan’s voice when the other woman said, **“No, it’s fine. I’m finding your quickly evolving relationship with the young Jedi rather entertaining. And inspiring, I have to admit.”**

Sabine grinned in her helmet. “You do seem to be rather chummy with a certain Protector,” she teased, flicking her eyes at the man in question as he stood in the circle of warriors along the edges of the bridge, guarding their prisoners. “I’m surprised you let him out of your sight.”

Bo-Katan audibly huffed. **“He’s used to working with you in combat situations; it made the most sense to put him on your team.”**

“But you’d rather have him on yours, wouldn’t you?”

Now the new Mand’alor sighed softly before answering, **“Yes.”**

“Welcome to the Recently Infatuated Club.”

Bo-Katan laughed. **“How true that is.” **A pause. And then a much more serious tone of voice. **“But discussing our love lives is not why I called, regardless of how much more entertaining it is than waiting for grumpy Imps to wake up. Your plan is going perfectly so far, and I’m quite impressed, except for one not so little problem.”**

A feeling of dread settled in the pit of Sabine’s stomach, and she saw Ezra stiffen slightly as he sensed her change of mood. Knowing he’d start mentally eavesdropping if he sensed something wrong whether she liked it or not, Sabine changed her comm so she could hear what was going on in his helmet as well. (Two could play the eavesdropping game.) “What is it? What’s happened?”

Another short pause before Bo-Katan answered. **“We were about five minutes too slow enacting our plan. The Captain on my ship was on the holo with Darth Vader when I found him.”**

“Shab.”

“Karabast.”

Sabine’s frown twitched upwards at Ezra’s simultaneous curse with her own.

**“Exactly. And it gets worse. Someone from the Revengar must have gotten word to the other ships that your Jedi were present. Vader seemed quite pleased to know their location and said he was coming to get them. He also saw me just before I ended the transmission, which means he knows that I’m involved in today’s coup and will bring enough reinforcements with him to make Mandalore a very bad place to be in about nine hours.”**

“Haar’chak, I’m sorry, My Lady. It wasn’t my intention to make this into an all out war for you.”

**“Don’t fret too much about it, little cousin. This was coming anyway. Maybe a little sooner than expected, but anticipated nonetheless as soon as we decided to openly defy Imperial occupation. We’ll deal. The Emperor was bound to send either Vader’s or Thrawn’s fleets whether you and your Jedi were here or not. At least, because of you, I’ll have a minimum of two ISD’s and all of their accompanying toys to fight back with.”**

“That’s something.”

**“Yes. Now, I thought it would be best if I left it to you to tell your Jedi about the impending threat to their lives, and let you three decide what to do about it. I won’t ask you to stay and fight with us if you don’t want to, not if they are going to be targeted specifically.”**

Sabine looked over at Ezra again as she walked the bridge. He was standing tall and tense now, fingers grazing his lightsabre restlessly. She wished she knew what he was thinking, but she knew he would fight if she asked him to. Die for her if he thought it would help. The question was; did she want him to? “I’ll have to get back to you on that one, Bo-Katan.”

**“I understand. We have a little time. You can tell your Jedi after the ISD’s are secured.”**

Sabine laughed without humour. “They already know.”

**“Uhhhhh… How? Some Jedi thing?” **

Sabine all but snorted as Ezra shifted again, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the wall. She didn’t need to see his face to know he was smirking. _Someone’s proud of himself. _“You could say that. Ezra’s eavesdropping on my mind and whatever he knows, Kanan knows.”

**“Hunh. I don’t think I envy you right now.”**

This time Sabine definitely snorted. “I’ve lived with them for years and didn’t know they could do that. I don’t suppose it makes much difference now that I do know.”

**“I guess not. And now that I think about it, there could be some advantageous uses to Ezra’s mind snooping.”**

Sabine grinned as she pictured herself and Ezra in a bed, naked. He practically squirmed in his boots and his breathing suddenly panted in her ear over the comm. “Oh, I’ve already thought of them, trust me.”

Bo-Katan laughed. **“I bet you have. On a completely different note, have your ships arrived yet?”**

“They have. Father’s hovering nearby.”

**“Good. Because all of my Imps are awake now.”**

Sabine scanned the pits on both sides. “So are mine.”

**“Time for some ‘persuasive’ speeches.”**

“Yep.”

**“Have fun.”**

“You too.”

Sabine closed the channel with Bo-Katan and opened the one to Ezra properly. She looked directly at him and purred out, “Soon, babe.”

“Oh Force,” he breathed back as their helmeted gazes all but locked across the pit between them.

She smirked and then turned her attention to the Imps below her, positioning herself at the head of the central bridge so they could all see her. And then she said something she’d been dying to say for what felt like her entire life. “All right, Imperial scum, here’s how it’s going to be…”

* * *

Despite what Sabine thought, when Ezra heard that Darth Vader was coming, his first instinct was to keep that information to himself.

He didn’t want Kanan to fight the Sith Lord because he was afraid Kanan would die if he did.

So he buried the thoughts about Vader to the furthest corner of his mind to hide from his Master, and instead concentrated on Sabine.

He’d worry later about how to keep Kanan safe from the impending arrival of their worst enemy.

* * *

_Mando’a translations:_

_Jai’galaar – Shriek Hawk_


	12. How to Appropriate a Star Destroyer (part 2)

**A/N: You’ll probably notice that I borrowed a line from the new Mandalorian show. I adore it, and I think it’s a perfect line for a Mand’alor to say. Anyone else also completely in love with the new show? Gaga over the baby Yoda? (Will they finally name Yoda’s race so we can stop calling it Baby Yoda?) I have no idea what this show is going to do to mess up the Mandalorian world that I’ve built up in my stories, but if it does, we’ll just all kindly remember that ALL of my stories are A.U.’s to the canon one. :P**

* * *

**How to Appropriate a Star Destroyer (part 2):**

Bo stood in front of the empty windows, broken pieces of transparisteel littering the decking around her, the dark blue sky of the burgeoning dawn behind her. Her hands were tucked neatly behind her back and she’d pulled off her helmet and given it to Kar to hold for her so that people could confirm that it was, in fact, her. Someone had found a black cape in the officer’s meeting room and it now sat on her shoulders, completing her look of calm sovereignty.

At the back of the bridge was the ancient orange astromech known as Chopper, who was recording her speech to broadcast to the people of her worlds and the galaxy at large once their coup on and above Mandalore was complete. (Undoubtedly some editing would be needed first.) This was something she’d thought of herself after hearing Sabine’s plan. The girl might have a brilliant strategical mind, but she didn’t yet have the experience to lead entire systems worth of people. They needed to know what was happening if Bo had any hope of rallying her entire race of warriors and pacifists to her cause.

She gazed down at the officers who glared back with varying degrees of hatred and resignation for the most part. A few younger ones just looked curious, and she noted their faces as possible new allies or perhaps even graduates of the Academy who had ended up in Imperial ranks through lack of choice.

“I am Duchess Bo-Katan Kryze, the new Mand’alor,” she said matter of factly, watching the Imps closely for reactions. Unsurprisingly, most of the officers didn’t look impressed, Tigfeld especially. But the few that Bo had picked out gasped audibly and then immediately bowed their heads in obeisance. _Nice to be right. I wonder how many other Mandalorian graduates are part of the ranks of these Imperial ships? There’s an easy enough way to find out. But later. First, the matter at hand. _

“And as such, I am the new leader of all of the Mandalorian systems. We will no longer recognize Imperial rule, and as of right now, I’m declaring all Imperial ships to be trespassing in our space and they will be seized or destroyed if they don’t immediately jump out of the Mandalorian sector.”

“There’s no way you can reinforce that!” Tigfeld all but yelled.

Bo ignored the interruption of what undoubtedly would be the first thing to be edited from the recording. (The blind Jedi standing quieting off to the side would also not make the final cut. There was no need to endanger him or incite a riot over her choice of friends.) “Furthermore, any facilities and supplies located on our worlds will be seized and or destroyed.” Bo was essentially giving the entirety of her people instructions to follow; all she could do was hope they heeded them when they saw the broadcast because it was going to take weeks for her to tour every Mandalorian / Imperial controlled planet. The clan leaders that occupied each of those worlds would most likely do their part in enforcing her words, but she needed to be seen in person on each planet to solidify her new role as their leader.

She kept her eyes steadily locked on Chopper’s optic sensor, letting the galaxy see her determination and inner strength. “As you can see, I’ve already begun by taking control of or eradicating the Star Destroyers located on Mandalore.” (Someone would add footage of the still smouldering and crackling Revengar by the dome of Sundari at this point. And perhaps some images of the destroyed Imperial Headquarters of Sundari.) “For those Imperials that are caught, you will be given three choices. Whether you live, die, or get locked up for the rest of your life in the pits of a mining planet is entirely up to you. Anyone wishing to switch their allegiance to the Mandalorian way of life will be allowed a trial period to prove your sincerity. Those who were raised Mandalorian but switched their allegiance to the Empire either by choice or by force will also be given a second chance. But not a third.” The unspoken warning was clear enough in her tone and her hard green eyes. “Those who wish to stay loyal to the Empire can pick either of the latter choices.”

Bo paused and swept her eyes over the officers packed into the pits, not surprised to see that a few more were thinking over her words very carefully. They would be the smart ones who didn’t like option two or three. Her eyes returned to Chopper. “This is your Mand’alor, and I have spoken.”

She would not be repeating herself in words. Blasters would speak loud enough from now on.

Kar handed her back her helmet. “I have spoken; I like it. That might be the most badass ending to a speech ever,” he murmured with delighted cheer in his tone.

Bo flashed her friend a smirk before putting her helmet back on. She turned her attention back to the men in the pits and waved a blaster at them, just realizing that there was not a single female in the group. _Why am I not surprised that Tigfeld is a chauvinist nerfherder?_ “You heard me. If you wish to join me, climb on up here and go see our Jedi friend over there. Because I don’t have time to test your loyalty right now, he will determine whether you are sincere or not.”

The three young officers she’d noticed earlier quickly, almost eagerly, climbed out; two from the left and one from the right. Four more out of the approximately forty people they’d gathered up also climbed out, but much slower. To their credit, though, they had a determined set to their shoulders and jaws that Bo liked. Breaking Imperial conditioning wasn’t the easiest thing to do, and those four were showing admirable qualities in doing so.

* * *

Ezra eyed the twelve men and five women who’d elected to skip the short and hard life of a mine worker. There were more standing on the decking than he’d expected when he’d first seen the Imperials’ sneering attitudes as they’d all woken up and found themselves held at blaster point with a few new aching body parts, but Sabine’s speech had been pretty persuasive, especially with those big eyes of hers flashing with passion as she spoke.

_“I was once forced to be an Imperial like you. But I was raised a Mandalorian and I will die a Mandalorian. We might like to fight a little too much, and we might go to war with an enemy for centuries out of sheer stubbornness, but unlike the Empire, we will NEVER plant ourselves on another person’s planet and strip all of the resources from it for our own ends. We will NEVER oppress the downtrodden or weak. We will NEVER even think to try and rule the ENTIRE galaxy with a durasteel fist. So you have a choice, my Imperial drones. You can take control of your life and join a Mand’alor who actually cares about the wellbeing of her people, or can live out your life doing hard labour in a prison camp, or you can die here and now.”_

Ezra would remember her impassioned speech for a long time to come. And so would the Mandalorian warriors with them, if the way they’d all looked at her with amazement in their emotions was anything to go by. _I hope someone recorded that with their helmet cam, because it should be added to Bo-Katan’s broadcast._

Now he had to do his duty as a human lie detector and make sure none of these people were going to betray them in the next stage of their missions for the day. After taking off his helmet and setting it down on the floor by Sabine’s, he walked up the line, giving them all his best stink eye (which wasn’t all that intimidating, to be honest, considering he was in too good of a mood, but it was the thought that counted) and made himself look as big as possible. “We’ll keep this simple and short, people. I will ask you one question. You will answer one at a time. I WILL know if you are lying.”

Someone snorted behind his back, but when Ezra spun around, every face was blank. _Grrrrr._

He started with the first man in line; a man who just happened to be the Captain of the ship, which was very convenient for them considering they were going to need the captains to do some communicating with the captains on the ISDs in orbit, not to mention keep control of the approximate forty-six thousand people that served on each of the ships they commanded. It would definitely be easier if they didn’t have to mind control them into it. Ezra stared up into the tall man’s golden brown eyes. “Do you renounce your loyalty to the Empire?”

The man stared back at Ezra, his gaze steady. His emotions were also calm, determined, and just a little bit rejoiceful, like the man was celebrating a freedom he never thought he’d achieve. “Yes,” he said clearly and firmly.

Ezra nodded. “Good. I believe you.”

Ezra moved on down the line.

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Every answer was the same. All of them came with a mix of emotions ranging from relief to joy to resignation, but they all felt sincere to him.

Until the last man.

He said, “Yes,” but his emotions did not. The lean and stone-faced human was filled with malicious intent that he tried to mask under a strong sense of duty, which in itself could go both ways.

Ezra sighed and shook his head. “Sorry, but that was a lie.”

The grey uniformed Lieutenant shook his head quickly, eyes narrowing. “No, I’m…”

Ezra cut him off. “Quiet!” He poured the willpower of the Force into the word and the man’s mouth snapped shut, his eyes widening in surprise at the involuntary action. Ezra put more effort into accessing the man’s mind. He waved a finger in front of the man’s face. “You WILL tell me the truth.”

“I will tell you the truth,” the man repeated, monotone, eyes blank.

“Do you renounce your loyalty to the Empire?”

“Never.” Still in a monotone, but the answer was clear enough for everyone to hear.

Ezra relaxed his mental hold on the man and life returned to his eyes. As well as resignation now that his game had failed. A Rook warrior prodded the man with a blaster in the side. “Back into the pit, scum.”

The man went.

“Thanks, Ez,” Sabine said quietly as she walked past him, brushing his arm with her fingers briefly in a ‘come with me’ gesture as she made for the Captain. She nodded respectfully to the tall man who had a sprinkle of grey in the short black hair visible under his hat. “Welcome to our side of the war, Captain.”

The man smiled and Sabine did a double take as he suddenly looked very familiar to her. She looked at Ezra to see if he saw it too and found him blinking at the man with his head tilted slightly in puzzlement. _Not just my imagination then. But who?_

And then the Captain spoke an entire sentence and the familiar deep voice was unmistakable.

“I reckon I might finally be on the right side of the war, but the various stories I’ve heard have kept me doubting for a long time. Either way, I had no choice in my affiliation until now.”

Sabine practically jumped out of her shock. “By the Manda! You’re a clone!”

The man’s smile turned self-depreciating. “I am. How’d you guess? Most people have forgotten we even still exist.”

Ezra and Sabine beamed at the man. “Rex. You sound just like him,” Ezra answered.

“You look a decade or two younger though,” Sabine added.

The man raised a brow just like Rex did. “I’d imagine so. I was only a young cadet when the war ended and the Empire formed. The Emperor still considered myself and my brothers his property, though, and we were raised just like our older brothers to become soldiers in his army. I’m one of the few left still in service. Most of my brothers ended up as mud or stormtroopers on the front lines of recalcitrant worlds and didn’t last long.”

“That sucks,” Ezra said sympathetically.

The clone captain nodded solemnly in agreement. But then his expression lightened. “Hey, did you say Rex? As in THE Captain Rex?”

Ezra and Sabine nodded, smiling widely. “Yep.”

The clone breathed out a wonder filled, “Whoa. I can’t believe he’s still alive. The man’s a legend.”

Ezra chuckled. “He certainly thinks so. We definitely need to get you two together; I know Rex will go nuts to see another brother.”

“And I will go ‘nuts’ also,” the dignified man said with some amusement. “I am also quite interested in spending some time with you, Master Jedi,” he said, giving Ezra a quick once over as if expecting someone a bit larger or intimidating looking. “I remember being in awe of Master Ti, and I remember the stories that used to trickle back to Kamino about the feats of the Jedi Generals. I also remember that we were told that the Jedi had betrayed the Republic but I never quite believed them. I’ve always wanted to know what was real or not.”

Ezra grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. “I think the one you really want to talk to is my Master. I was born the day the Empire rose, I don’t know much. But my Master was there. He fought in the Clone Wars as a Padawan.”

The clone’s eyes lit up. “Really? Then yes, I would like to talk to him. Where is he?”

Ezra nodded his chin in the general direction of Kanan. “On the other ship, doing the same thing I just did with that ship’s ‘volunteers’.”

“Ah. I doubt there’ll be many. Captain Tigfeld has a mental stick up his arse and is fiercely loyal to the Emperor, and he likes to surround himself with like-minded people.”

“Fun,” Sabine said dryly, rolling her eyes. She’d met the type, more times than she’d care to think about.

“Not really,” the clone answered, his eyes twinkling.

Ezra sent his Master an excited thought. _“You will NOT believe who’s captaining this ship, Kanan!”_

* * *

Kanan ignored his Padawan’s mental chatter for the moment, because he was currently having a battle of wills with Captain Tigfeld; the man was decidedly more stubborn minded than most of the beings that Kanan had encountered.

He blindly glared at the man shaped Force image that two of Lady Kryze’s people had dragged before him and poured more Force into his words as he pushed harder against the natural shield of the obstinate man’s mind. “You WILL obey every order Duchess Kryze or one of her people give you!”

The man was shaking and sweating and drooping in the hold of the warriors but he glared just as defiantly back at Kanan as he had at the start of this a few minutes ago. “I… Will… Not!” he gritted out through clenched teeth.

Kanan had to give the man kudos for putting up such a valiant resistance, but it didn’t mean that he liked him. _Time for a new tactic, Ahsoka Tano style._

Keeping up the pressure on the other man’s mind, Kanan’s lightsabre magically appeared in his free hand and he lit it with a flick of his thumb. Holding the blue laser beam against the man’s groin just enough to singe his grey uniform a little, he repeated his command. “You WILL obey every order Duchess Kryze or one of her people give you, or you will die slowly as I cut off bits of you until all that’s left is a spinal cord attached to your heart.” Kanan said this with a dead calm and matter-of-fact expression that earned him some very admiring looks from the nearby Mandalorians. He didn’t actually mean it, but no one knew it but himself; he could never do such a gruesome thing to another being, but it sure was a fun threat to say. (He’d once heard Kasmir say it to another smuggler who’d tried to steal their cargo, and the line had stuck with him for years, just waiting for the opportunity to be said again. Unlike Kanan, though, Kasmir would have gone through with the threat if he thought it was necessary.)

Finally, the Captain’s shields cracked as fear for his dangly bits overcame his concentration. Kanan dove into his mind and inserted his will over the other man’s. Tigfeld’s eyes went blank and his body stilled. “I will obey Duchess Kryze and her people,” he monotoned out.

Kanan kept his lightsabre in place for one more sentence. “And you won’t do anything to jeopardize the next mission.” (Bo-Katan would have to figure out how to deal with her ship full of Imperials without him after that, because Kanan was sure his Force ‘suggestion’ wouldn’t hold beyond what he’d just done, and he had no intention of being the man’s puppet master indefinitely.)

“And I won’t do anything to jeopardize the next mission.”

The lightsabre was returned to Kanan’s belt and he nodded. “Good.” He retreated from the man’s mind with a mental shudder at what he’d had to do, but kept his expression calm and peaceful.

Tigfeld straightened in the warriors’ hold and tugged at his arms. Kanan nodded and they let him go. He turned to Bo-Katan who was standing nearby. “What are your orders, Duchess?” His eyes were dead, and his voice was flat, but he was behaving, so Bo called it a win. (Hopefully his people were less observant.)

Bo looked at the seven men who’d changed sides willingly, and then down into the pits where the rest were watching resentfully. “How many people do you actually need to fly this ship and man its weapons and defensive systems?”

The Imperial stared back at her with his flat expression for a moment before he answered. “A minimum of six, Duchess. But more is recommended.”

Bo was somewhat worried about that moment of hesitation, and vowed to keep a close eye on the man. She would not trust the Jedi’s mind trick to last. She indicated the seven men who’d switched sides. “And are these men up to that task?”

Tigfeld looked them over quickly. “Five of them have the appropriate training for at least one of those positions. The other two are in communications and security. We are short one pilot.”

“Do you happen to know how to fly your own ship?” Bo asked condescendingly. 

The blond shabuir that Bo decided that she really really didn't like drew himself up a little taller, a hint of indignation creeping into his flat stare. _Definitely not mind-whammied well enough for my liking, _Bo thought with a flicker of a frown. “Of course I can,” he said.

“Then you shall be the second pilot as necessary.”

Tigfeld nodded stiffly. “Yes, Duchess.”

“And the astromech can help where needed.”

Chopper beeped in protest from beside Kanan, but a swift kick from the Jedi had the droid sulking but obedient.

The Captain looked at the old droid with the barest hint of a sneer of disgust curling his lip upwards. “Yes, Duchess.”

Bo turned to the officers still in the pits. “The rest of you, out, and back to the officer’s meeting room. We’ll sort out who’s dying and who’s getting imprisoned later. I don’t want to deal with dead bodies right now.”

The officers reluctantly climbed out of the pits with multiple blasters keeping them under heavy guard, and marched down to the far end of the command deck. Once the thirty-some people were crowded into the room, Bo nodded at Kar and the other Kryze warrior who blocked the doorway. As she walked back towards the bridge, the sound of blaster fire echoed through the wide hallway as they stunned the lot repeatedly to keep them all asleep for the next couple of hours.

Bo didn’t intend to actually kill any of them unless they forced her hand; the Mandalorian systems had plenty of mining planets that could always use more workers. She very much liked the idea of the Imperials working for her and providing credits that would feed and house her people.

* * *

Sabine’s team had just cleared the bridge of the Imperial diehards when she received another call from Bo-Katan. She pressed the button on her vambrace to answer the rerouted call.

**“How’s it going on your ship, Sabine?”**

Sabine watched their new recruits move to their stations and Captain Colter (a round of introductions had finally been made) settle into what looked like a favourite spot at the end of the bridge where he could keep an eye on everything. His hands were held neatly behind his back and there was an expression of righteous peace on his face that made Sabine’s chest feel just a little too tight with emotion. “It’s going astonishingly well over here. The captain is on our side. He’s a clone, believe it or not, and seems quite relieved to be free of a life of servitude.”

**“Surprising, but nice to hear. Kanan had to mind trick the captain on my ship into behaving. And I don’t trust it to hold for long; the bastard gives new definition to the word stubborn. Are we ready to roll into phase three of this morning’s entertainment so your Jedi doesn’t have to spend his entire day reinforcing his mind suggestions?”**

Sabine smiled at Ezra as he came to stand beside her and handed her her helmet with a warm flash of his eyes. “I do believe we are, My Lady,” she said just before placing her helmet back on her head. “Those idiots up there are in for a very big surprise.”

* * *

Sabine and Ezra walked purposefully down the hallway in appropriated black TIE fighter pilot uniforms that had been fetched for them by one of the Imperials who had chosen to side with them. Trailing behind them were the three super commandoes and another dozen clan Rook Mandos in the same pilot gear as they all made their way to the TIE hangar.

Over the loudspeaker, Bo-Katan’s voice was suddenly heard, saying in Mando’a, **“This is your new Mand’alor. If you are true to the Resol’nare, meet in the fighter hangar in five minutes.”**

They passed confused looking officers and troopers as the announcement was made, but Sabine was pleased to see one stormtrooper tense for a second and then casually turn and start marching in the same direction they were. _That's one. It's a start. _

Bo-Katan’s announcement was immediately followed by one spoken in Basic from Captain Colter. (Hearing someone who sounded just like Rex over the comm was disconcerting.) 

**“This is your Captain. Please ignore whatever rubbish you just heard. Something went a little screwy with the comms and we picked up a radio transmission from the city below just as I was about to make an announcement... Which was that after the cleanup of the unfortunately bombed Saxon destroyer is complete, all personnel will be granted another four hours of leave time in Sundari, in a staggered schedule. The schedule will be sent to your personal comms by your C.O.s. Enjoy!”**

_Kanan must have had a fun time getting his recalcitrant captain to say the same thing, _she thought with a grin inside her borrowed helmet.

Two maintenance techs that they were passing practically cheered at the announcement.

“We have the best posting,” one guy in an orange vest said to the other. “This is our second leave time in a week.”

“Yeah. I heard the crew on the Redoubtable never get any leave time. Something about the Captain not wanting his people to mingle with the Mandos and get any ideas.”

Sabine snorted silently as Ezra bumped his shoulder into hers playfully. “Hear that? You Mandos are a bad influence,” he teased her over the private comm channel she’d set between their new helmets.

“I should hope so,” she replied proudly. “I like to think I’ve certainly influenced you, at least.”

His helmeted head turned to look at her pointedly for a moment. “Oh, there’s no question of that,” Ezra’s voice rumbled back in her ear. “If I was a Jedi from before the war, I’d have been kicked out from all of the non Code-like things I plan on doing to you. We’re gonna make Kanan and Hera’s not-so-secret assignations look tame in comparison.”

Sabine all but shivered from head to toe at the promise in his tone. “Stars, I’m holding you to that, Bridger.” She sucked in a steadying breath. “But first, we have a job to do.”

His tone returned to businesslike also. “Of course. Work before play makes for a satisfying day.”

She laughed. “Where did you hear that cheesy saying?”

“Uhhhhh. Don’t know actually. Maybe kindergarten class? Been a long time since I was anywhere near a school, but, yeah. I think my kindergarten teacher said it.”

“That makes sense. It does sound like a saying for children,” she teased.

“If the combat boot fits...” he countered with, unperturbed.

She huffed good-naturedly as they finally arrived at their destination. (Travelling anywhere on a Star Destroyer was more often than not akin to walking multiple city blocks.) The TIE hangar was already starting to fill up with troopers, officers, techs, and (_yay!) _a large number of TIE fighter pilots. _Definitely Mandalorian bred._ Sabine looked at the gathering group in surprise. “Whoa. There’s more of my people stationed on here than I would have guessed. Though, I’m not sure why I’m surprised. The Imperial Academy here on Mandalore has been spitting out trained Imp slaves for years now, and I know that ISDs have been stationed above Mandalore ever since the Siege eighteen years ago to help keep our people in line. It makes sense that they’d pull their newer recruits from the Academy here.”

“That... kinda sucks,” was Ezra’s sympathetic comment as they watched even more people file in to the rapidly diminishing space.

“Yep.” Sabine sighed and then shook off the glum thoughts. “I need to get someplace where everyone can see me,” she said as she started scanning the area. Her gaze landed on a rolling ladder pushed off to the side. _That’ll do. _

“How bout on top of a TIE?” Ezra suggested. She followed his line-of-sight to a TIE parked dead center at the side of the hangar where the entire crowd would be able to see her perfectly. _That’ll do even better._

“I like it.” Sabine turned to the super commandoes that still looked mostly Imperial, if you didn’t notice that their armour was beskar instead of plastoid under the white paint. “Guard the door for now. Anyone tries to sneak out while I’m talking is not as loyal as they should be and should be dealt with accordingly.”

“Yes, Countess,” the tallest one called Rontil said briskly. They took up semi-casual positions on either side of the door, and Rontil sent the shortest one (by only half a head or so) called Adnar to stand by the secondary exit.

Sabine turned to the other Mandos in disguise. “Rooks, patrol the crowd, Anyone looks or acts unhappy with what I’m about to say, escort them off to the side and deal with them.”

“Understood,” one of them nodded, and they faded away into the accumulating mass of Imperials with questionable loyalty.

That left Sabine and Ezra to sidle their way over to the TIE they’d picked out as a stage.

Upon arrival at the base of it, Sabine took two running steps and jumped up and grabbed the frame between the pod and the solar panel wing, then flipped up and on to it. She was standing on top of the TIE’s cockpit only seconds later.

“Show off,” Ezra said affectionately from below her.

“A good Mando doesn’t need the Force,” she teased back, looking out over the crowd that was still growing.

“That’s true. But I’ve seen how hard you train to keep up with me. I’ll take the Force enhanced abilities any day.”

“Keep up with you?” she scoffed. “Ezra, I still kick your butt from here to next week when we spar.”

“Only because I let you,” he protested.

“Oh, really?” disbelief rampant in her tone. “All right, then. Next time we spar hand to hand, I dare you to do so without holding back, using the Force and everything. We’ll see who’s really better.”

“You’re on,” her new boyfriend said determinedly, staring up at her with his arms crossed over his chest.

She laughed silently. _Kriff, he’s so easy to play._

Sabine focused on the crowd again; there were no more new arrivals coming through the doors, and the majority had noticed her on top of the TIE. Murmurs swept through the crowd as they all turned and looked up at her. And then even the murmurs stopped as they waited patiently like the well trained soldiers they were for instructions. _I wonder if Bo-Katan has the same numbers looking up at her right now on the other Destroyer? _

_Speech time again, Wren. _She took a deep breath and then pulled off her helmet and tucked it under an arm. More than a few reacted as they recognized her from the wanted posters of her plastered all over Sundari. She held up her free hand to stop the mutters before they could get started. Everyone stilled and then the only sound came from a MSE droid as it skittered along the edge of the wall. Rontil stopped it with a well placed shot before it could escape out the door.

Some of the more nervous jumped at the blaster bolt, but most just stared up at Sabine, faces and helmets looking up expectantly.

She took that as her cue to start talking. So she did.

In a voice that carried.

And in Mando’a.

_If they don’t understand me, then they have no business being here. _

“Some of you may know me. It’s even possible that I went to Imp school here on Mandalore with you. But for those of you who don’t, I am Sabine Wren, the new Countess of Clan Wren. Yesterday, I lost many of my family, including my mother and brother, to a weapon that I naively built for the Empire many years ago while I was a student at the Academy.” A few of the female officers gasped in sympathy, but most looked skeptical of her intentions.

Sabine stared down the crowd with hard amber eyes. “I just blew up that weapon for the second time on Tiber Saxon’s ISD, with him tied to it.” More gasps. And some looks of respect. _Good. _“My Clan has been avenged,” she said, her tone more durasteel than anything.

“Now, I, and the new Mand’alor, your rightful leader, Duchess Bo-Katan Kryze, are determined to avenge all of Mandalore for the wrongs done to it by the Emperor. Thus, we have already launched an attack on the Imperial locations in the city, and have taken over these two ISD’s and are now going to claim the three up in orbit, which our secondary fleet is already keeping busy.”

The approval on most of their faces was a bigger relief than she thought it would be. And, even more surprisingly, no one had made any move to leave and tattle on them.

“What do you want us to do?” A blond male in a Lieutenant’s uniform from near the front of the group called out.

“Good question. If you know how to fly a TIE, get in one. We’re going to pretend to follow and attack a couple of Kom’rks from the battle in the city up into space. Please don’t shoot them for real, though, considering that my father is in one.” This inspired a small wave of chuckles and sympathetic looks that she took heart from. “Once in the chaos of the battle above, we’ll infiltrate the three ISD’s with our borrowed TIEs and storm their bridges, similarly to how we took over these ships. The rest of you will stay here and act normal. When you are assigned your shore leave, you’ll be responsible for taking out anyone in your shuttle with you that is not a loyal Mandalorian. Use lethal force if necessary, but stunning and tying up is fine. Any Imps who do not wish to become a Mando are going to find themselves employed in one of Mandalore’s many mining operations scattered across our space.”

She studied their faces, the ones she could see anyway, and found almost every single person wearing a look of hope and approval. “Any more questions?”

Almost as a whole, everyone shook their heads.

“Good! Now let’s go take back our pride!”

They cheered. And her chest tightened with emotion. _Shab. I’m actually doing this. I’m leading my people. Not as Mand’alor, but this is more than enough. _

As the crowd started to move, Sabine plunked the slightly uncomfortable black helmet back on her head and popped the hatch to the TIE she was standing on. As she jumped down into it, Ezra said over their comm channel, “Kriff, cyar’ika. I might have understood only a bit of that, and I know I’ve said this before, but I would follow you to the end of the universe and back.”

She looked out and down through the window at him as he looked up at her with his helmeted head. But she imagined she could see his blue eyes anyway through the black visor, practically glowing with love and pride for her. _Stars, I love him. Why did it take me so long to see it? _

Putting a hand on the transparisteel, she said back, “Ditto, Ez’ika. Ditto. Now go get in a TIE before they’re all taken.”

He saluted her cheekily. “Yes, Ma’am!”

Sabine was grinning, her heart light, as she sat in the chair and started up the engines of the familiar fighter.

* * *

**A/N: All right. I'm done writing tactical stuff for a bit. (If you can really call it that, lol) I'm leaving what comes next up to your imaginations and I'm finally (and eagerly) going back to the fluff from the original story! **


	13. Disappointments and Foreshadowing

**A/N: Ooops. My muse didn’t get the memo about returning to the fluff... lol.**

* * *

**Disappointments and Foreshadowing:**

_The Devastator, en route to Mandalore..._

Lord Vader stood like an immovable black statue at the transparisteel window of his flagship, feet planted shoulder width apart and hands tucked behind his back and hidden under his cape. The bridge officers were as silent as they could manage as they did their work, not a word spoken, in petrified awe of their freakishly powered Commanding Officer.

Some of them were old enough to remember the long-running Clone Wars that had ended eighteen years ago, old enough to remember the tales of the Jedi. Some of them were even old enough to have served in the Republic or Separatist armies and had actually seen a glimpse or two of the lightsabre wielding warriors. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, it was an accepted fact in the rumour mill of the ship that Lord Vader must be something similar to one of the near mythical Force using Jedi, and had to be just as evil.

Because the other thing that everyone knew from their history lessons was that the Jedi had started the war and had dragged it on as long as they could in an attempt to bankrupt the Republic with their expensive clone troopers and countless battles that required more and more ships, troopers, and supplies. If Emperor Palpatine hadn’t intervened with the help of his right hand man, the All Powerful Darth Vader, the Jedi would have taken over the galaxy and who knows what weird things they’d be doing to it with their creepy Force powers?

Steal even more children from their families and brainwash them into thinking they were gods as well so that every planet was quivering in fear from the Force abusing despot who ruled over them? 

It was thinking such as this – along with the multiple deaths amongst their own ranks at the hands of Lord Vader – that kept crazy rumours flying in the mess halls of the Devastator. And then there were the times, such as now, that their awe and fear only increased when they saw things like his cape lifting in a nonexistent breeze.

Under his mask, Vader’s eyes were closed and a smile of grim pleasure curved his lips upwards as he greedily drank in the rush of fear from his show of power, more than content to let the crew think whatever rotten things they wanted about the Jedi and himself.

There had once been a time when his cape basically moved on its own as it was affected by the swirling currents of the Force that had surrounded him as he struggled to control the shear hated and loathing he had for everything and everyone. But now, so many years later, the hate and fear and Dark energy was at his command and played off his fingertips the way the Light side used to, and his cape only moved as he directed.

Self-indulgent mission accomplished, Vader turned his attention outwards, eyes still closed, as he searched for Ahsoka in the Force yet again. He’d been searching for even a vague sense of her ever since she had disappeared before his eyes on Malachor, pulled away by a black gloved hand on her shoulder into nothingness.

He knew in his gut that she wasn’t dead, just like he’d known after he found her lightsabre on that moon with the crashed and crumpled Venator. Both then and now, he’d had no sense of her in the Force, no matter how hard he searched for her familiar signature, and both times he’d been able to use that as proof enough for his Lord that she was, in fact, deceased.

As it had always been, Vader didn’t want to find her to kill her. He wanted to find her so that she could join him so they could defeat his lying, controlling, backstabbing Master together.

Alas, today, like every other day before it, Vader couldn’t sense his preferred Apprentice anywhere, no matter how far he stretched his senses out. But he knew that, one day, she would return from whatever strange dimension she had been pulled into – maybe one like the Mortis realm – and he would be at her side as fast as a ship could get him there to try and turn her again.

Mentally sighing in suppressed frustration, Vader turned his senses to other, less worthy, but still important Jedi. Well, Force users, anyway. He wasn’t entirely convinced that Caleb Dume and his brave but stupid little Padawan actually qualified as Jedi; at least, not the way he knew them to be.

Caleb Dume, or whatever he was calling himself these days, had grown up since he’d last known him as the Padawan of Master Billaba, but he hadn’t followed his Temple training in anything but the most basic sense. The man had a FAMILY for kark’s sake, albeit not a blood related one. And he was also very clearly in a loving, Force bound, monogamous relationship with the Twi’lek pilot of his little crew, which was very much not the Jedi way that he’d been preached about a thousand times over. (Not that he’d actually listened; he hadn’t been a very good Jedi either.) Vader thought Dume was a very stupid man to make himself vulnerable like that, having found out the hard way that succumbing to the lure of attachments was the easiest way to get hurt.

He would use those connections if he had to, to corner Dume so that he could kill him, but his only real goal was to eliminate the now blind Force user and to capture the teenage Padawan.

When he’d last encountered Ezra Bridger, the boy had been brimming with barely suppressed Dark energy, and had felt ripe for the plucking towards his side of the Force. Until Ahsoka decided to return to the present reality, Vader had plans to turn the boy into his next secret Apprentice (and hopefully a less disappointing one than the various Starkillers had been). Bridger was stronger with the Force than his current, blind in more ways than one, Master, his potential almost as a great as Ahsoka’s had proved to be, and Vader would enjoy the challenge of whipping the little whelp into shape.

Vader’s macabre smile returned as he found two bright spots in the Force on the pathetically Force weak planet of Mandalore, exactly where he expected them to be. _So much easier to locate Force users when I already know where they are and there’s no one or thing around them to mask their presence. _

_Now be good little Jedi Wannabees and just stay there for a little bit longer and this three year hunt will finally be over. _

_Going to Mandalore will be Dume’s final mistake. _

Vader remained motionless, his cape still whipping about his ankles like an angry tooka tail, as he felt one of his bridge officers tentatively shuffling up behind him, radiating trepidation. He opened his eyes only to roll them. “What is it, Collins?” he snapped before the man made a fool of himself trying to get his attention.

He felt Collins startle behind him, almost stumbling over his own feet, and that brought him a fiendish sort of pleasure that he basked in; Vader so loved to frighten the men.

Collins audibly gulped and came to a stop a ‘safe’ (haha) distance away of two metres. “I... I’m sorry to... to disturb you, My Lord, but you have a holo call from Coruscant.”

Since Coruscant was code for ‘The Emperor’, Vader whirled, cape flaring dramatically, narrowing his glowing Sith eyes in displeasure at the Lieutenant. (Not that anyone could see it behind the stupid mask, unfortunately.) “Why didn’t you say so sooner?”

“But... but I came to tell you right...”

Vader cut him off with an angry slash of his hand, sending the man flying down into the pit on the left and crashing into another officer who didn’t dodge fast enough. “You did not,” he refuted, growling loud enough for all to hear as he started striding with all haste towards the communications room, setting by example how fast one must walk when his Master was on the comm line.

Darth Sidious did NOT like to be kept waiting.

_Neither do I, for that matter, _he thought with a twisted sneer. _Cowards have no place on my Bridge. I might enjoy playing with the mens’ fears, but they still have to have the guts to stand up to me and look me in the eye and know not to anger me in any way, especially with the important things. _Without even looking behind himself, Vader latched onto Collins’ weak Force signature with a mental fist and squeezed. Hard.

There was a choked off cry, a loud CRACK! in the near silence as the coward’s neck snapped, and then nothing but the resigned shock radiating from the rest of the officers in the pit with the now dead man.

Pleased that the matter had been taken care of, Vader swept through the door and into the comm room. He knelt in front of the holo table immediately, head bowed in apologetic supplication to the hologram of the person he hated the most in the entire galaxy.

One day, Vader WOULD get his revenge on his Master. One day.

“What is your bidding, my Master?” Vader said to the floor.

“I sense that you are on your way to Mandalore,” the rusty, grating voice of Sidious said.

Now safe to look up, Vader did so, but stayed kneeling on one metal knee. “Yes, Master. I have received word that Dume and his Padawan are on the planet, and that another Governor Saxon has been eliminated. I go to deal with the situation.”

The black hooded figure frowned at him. “You did not consult me first.”

Vader quashed the urge to tremble at his Master’s displeased tone. “I thought to present you with a pleasant surprise with word of the deaths of the two Jedi.”

Sidious frowned even deeper, doing terrible things to the lines of his already wrinkled and disfigured face. “While that may have been a solid plan a few hours ago, things have changed.”

“What things? I can still feel the Jedi on the planet.”

“Ah, but did you happen to bother sensing anything else about Mandalore?”

“I... No,” Vader was forced to admit.

“How remiss of you, Vader.” His already aching chest tightened with fear at the punishment he knew he would receive at some point in the future for his mistake. Sidious smiled evilly, knowing exactly what Vader was feeling. He deigned to explain. “The Force around the planet is practically singing with Light side joy and triumph. The Mandalorians have taken their planet back and that red-haired Kryze has declared herself Mand’alor. While holding that blasted Darksabre like some kind of symbol of hope, she has transmitted a call out to all of her people to fight back against us across their entire sector of space. Our ships are being shot down or hijacked and our facilities blown up on every planet and moon even as we speak.”

Vader was shocked and appalled. _How could this happen so quickly? _“My Lord, I...”

“Enough. We must show the Mandalorian scum who actually rules this galaxy once and for all. I am tired of dealing with them over and over again. My Death Star unfortunately isn’t ready yet, but the first prototype of something else that you’ve been asking me to have built almost is.”

“What? My dreadnaught?” Vader said, almost jumping up to his feet in excitement before remembering his place. “You actually built one? From my specifications and everything?”

Sidious smiled almost indulgently. “Yes. It was going to be a surprise for you, but since I’m currently displeased with you, I think I’ll give the command of the first one to someone else.”

_Kark. I’d rather be electrocuted again and he bloody well knows it._

_How I hate him. _

Vader very carefully kept that last thought buried in the deepest corner of his mind and behind the thickest shield he could come up with.

“As you wish, my Master,” he ground out through his back teeth.

“I do,” Sidious said, all but openly gloating. “I will be flying to Kuat tomorrow to inspect the new Super Star Destroyer...”

Oh, did that ever hurt. Sidious was taking yet another thing away from Vader in punishment. HE wanted to be the first one to see his dream ship come to real life; a design that he had drawn up from years and years of experience with space battles.

He hid that pain behind his shield as well, refusing to give his Master the satisfaction of seeing him all but crying on the inside.

“... and if I am satisfied with it, I will meet you above Mandalore in three days with it...”

_I doubted that I could hate him more than I already did, but I do. He’s not even going to let me step foot on that dreadnaught, is he?_

“...and we will DESTROY that Forceforsaken ball of dust and all of the people on it once and for all.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

“In the meantime, I want to you organize every non-essential fleet across the galaxy and start mobilizing them towards the most important Mandalorian sector planets. We will hit all of them at once and then move on to the next and the next and so and so forth until there are no Mandalorian annoyances left to question my rule.”

Vader couldn’t fault his Master’s plan. And he would enjoy taking down the armoured nuisances who fancied themselves as good as a Force user. “As you say, Master. It will be done.” He paused for a moment. “What about Dume and the Bridger boy?”

Sidious barely shrugged. “If they become caught in our web of destruction, excellent. If not, then you may hunt them down at a later time, so long as nothing more pressing comes up. They really aren’t a priority right now. Both are quite insignificant to the course of the coming war that I foresee.”

Vader ground his teeth once again in frustration. He’d been pulled off the hunt for Dume and Bridger dozens of time already over the last three years; it was getting beyond annoying. “Yes, Master.”

“Besides,” Sidious continued. “I sense that someone else very strong with the Force will be vastly more important to you and the coming war sometime in the future.”

_Ahsoka?! _

“Who?” he asked carefully, trying not to show too much interest, since his Master believed that Ahsoka had been killed in the explosion on Malachor.

Sidious studied him through glowing eyes that shone even through the holo image. “I believe it is someone that you do not know yet.”

His interest was now beyond piqued. “I see.”

Sidious smiled in that spine-chilling way again, showing off his repulsive, rotting teeth. “No, I don’t think you do. But you will one day.”

And with that cryptic line, the holo image blinked out. Vader rose to his mechanical feet, staring blankly at the holotable, feeling like his world had just been turned upside down again.

_Who could possibly end up being more important to me than Ahsoka?_


	14. Return to Camp

**Return to Camp:**

It had only been six hours since they’d left camp and now they were back and Bo could barely believe everything that had been accomplished in that time.

Sundari was theirs.

Mandalore was theirs.

The last Saxon tyrant was gone along with a very worrisome weapon.

They now had control of five Star Destroyers, with their Imperial crews already in the process of being replaced with loyal Mandalorians.

And her people all across Mandalorian space were rallying together and fighting back against Imperial occupation.

It was frankly mindboggling.

And so far, their loses had been minimal, with only one Kom’rk taking a fatal hit and about a dozen of the unshielded Fang fighters losing battles to enemy TIEs, but their side had won and the deceased would be celebrated and remembered for dying an honourable death.

Now, if only she didn’t have the ticking time-bomb of Darth Vader’s wrath hanging over her head to prevent her from truly basking in the victories. Everything they just fought for was going to be tested in approximately three hours if Vader had left Coruscant as soon as he’d been informed of Saxon’s demise, and she had no doubts that he had.

But for now, everyone not taking over important command positions on an ISD had been ordered to take a two hour break for some food and relaxation time. They had three original captains who had been happy to switch sides, leaving only two of the most important positions to be filled. Kar had jumped at the chance to be the commander of such a massive ship, taking over from the annoying shabuir, Tigfeld, who Kanan had very happily knocked out at the earliest opportunity. And the last captain had been replaced by someone from clan Elder who just happened to already be second-in-command on the fifth ISD.

Now, Bo exited the Kom’rk that had picked her up along with Kanan, his droid, the ex Imperial Super Commando captain, and a few others. She looked around her camp as ships landed all around it; there was only a few people gathered in the center area so far, but they were already working on setting up tables for a celebratory feast. (Of course, they’re going to celebrate what they’ve already won. No threat of another battle to come is going to ruin a Mando’s good mood. Inspire it, more like.) “I need to assign someone to make sure the alcohol stays in short supply. Don’t need a bunch of drunken Mandos fighting round three,” she said more to herself than anything.

She was answered anyway.

“Oh, come on, Duchess,” Kanan said with a teasing grin as he disembarked beside her. “I thought you Mandos could fight under any circumstances.”

Bo glanced at the handsome, unmasked Jedi, the scars across his milky eyes not as bad as she’d expected when she’d first seen him without it, and smirked a little. “While that may be true, there’s still a question of the quality of the fighting that occurs when you get us drunk enough.”

He chuckled as he stepped off the ramp and aimed for the red and black Kom’rk that was just landing some distance away due to how many ships had already taken prime spaces, then nodded his bearded chin over his shoulder. “Then you might want to do something about them.”

Starting to get used to how the blind Jedi seemed to know exactly what was happening all around him despite how impossible it seemed, Bo looked in the direction indicated and sighed. A pack of clan Ordo warriors had disembarked their ship, whooping, and carrying a huge cask of what she hoped was only mead and not the much more potent Kri’gee ale that could knock out most humans with only two mugfuls. Three ships over, another group of her own warriors had the same idea. “Shab, I’ll be lucky if these di’kute can still see straight by the time the next wave of fighting starts.”

“Haha. Have fun with that,” he called over his shoulder, the orange astromech beeping out evil sounding chuckles.

“Thanks,” she grumbled and then moved to go start organizing the chaos and to make an attempt at reining in victory and adrenaline high Mandos who’d been suppressed for too long to even think about.

A veritable sea of warriors were pouring out of their ships now, and these were only some of them. The rest had chosen to join the party taking place in the streets of Sundari where the food and the bars could be found.

_We’re doomed. _

Seeing the new Mand’alor looking somewhat overwhelmed as she spun in a circle, Jett jogged a few steps to catch up with her. “Do you need help?”

Bo gave a pointed once-over to the white armoured Mando who’d very kindly left his men behind, scattered on the Star Destroyers as enforcers if their new prisoners got out of hand. “Sure. But not dressed like that. They’re more likely to shoot you than anything.” She indicated a tent two over from the central command one. “That’s Kar’s tent. I’m sure he won’t mind if you borrow a tunic. You look about the same size. Go ditch all that Imperial white until you can get a new bodysuit that doesn’t have the symbol of the Empire on it and some paint to restore your clan colours.”

Jett blinked and then nodded his helmeted head. “Yes, My Lady. Thank you.”

She shot him a fleeting and distracted smile, her attention already on a million other things. “Just trying to keep as many of my people alive as possible, Captain Hark.”

“I appreciate that. I’ll be back as fast as I can manage.”

Bo only nodded once before she set off for the crowd gathering in the eating area, already downing shots in the name of Mandalore and herself.

* * *

The second Ezra landed his Gauntlet on the dry, hard-packed dirt, Fenn was out of his chair and striding out of the cockpit, clearly a man on a mission, as he exited with a vague, “I’ll just go see if she needs any...”

Sabine snorted as his voice trailed off before the older Mando even finished his sentence, and then the door closed behind him, cutting off whether or not he continued it. She rose from her chair and came to lean over Ezra’s, wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind as he powered down the ship. “That poor man has it so bad.”

Putting a hand over her crossed forearms, Ezra twisted a bit to look up at the girl who had stolen his heart the first time he saw her, a rueful, crooked grin on his face. “He’s not the only one.”

“Oh?” she purred, leaning down further to press an appreciative kiss to his cheek.

“Yeah.” Ezra’s brilliant blue eyes sparkled with mischief. “Kanan is even worse when it comes to Hera.”

Sabine narrowed her eyes at his teasing and tightened her arms around his neck threateningly. “Kanan, hunh?”

Ezra’s grin grew. “Yep. Kanan.”

“Why, you little…” she sputtered in pretend outrage, at least until Ezra suddenly pulled her around so she sprawled across his thighs and his strong arms wrapped around her waist like a warm cage. She gasped in surprise, but even that was cut off as he stole the sound with his mouth.

She hummed in approval into his heated kiss, prompting him to pull back and smile at her, his eyes shining with more than mirth now. “And me. I’m the most gone of all us pathetic males.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck again, running the tips of her rounded nails through his soft, buzz cut hair lightly, thankful for her open-fingered gloves. “Is that so?”

Ezra shivered under her, eyelids falling slightly. “Most definitely,” he said huskily. One hand fell to her hip, pulling her closer against him, and the other rose to trace a gloved thumb over her cheekbone and brush the pale and lilac hair back behind her pretty little ear. She leaned into his touch. Both of them. And he thrilled that she responded that easily to him. “Because I’m the only one who has an actual warrior goddess in his lap.”

“Flatterer,” she whispered, cupping the back of his head, beyond pleased and feeling like her love for this boy was going to pour right out of her, she was so full with it. Sabine captured his hovering mouth by grasping his bottom lip in her teeth for a moment, which made his breath catch, and then she kissed him properly, all but permanently melding their lips together and stealing his exhale.

Ezra’s mental circuits gave up when she curled her tongue around his and he groaned like he was in pain. He groaned again when he felt her scooch her rear end over another millimetre so that her thigh was now pressed against his rapidly inflating trouser bulge.

_Ori’jate. _Sabine smiled into their kiss before getting serious again. _Ner Jetii, _she thought possessively.

Ezra heard that one, she broadcast it so loud. He’d never been happier to be claimed in his life. He pulled his mouth from hers again, panting. “Elek. Gar Jetii. Gare.” He planted kisses along her jaw and down her neck with each word.

Sabine closed her eyes again as ripples of pleasure at his words and kisses travelled through her. “You’re learning fast.”

“Can when I’m inspired,” Ezra said, finding a sweet smelling spot behind her ear that felt like velvet to his tongue.

Sabine moaned. _Shab, that feels amazing. _Her hands tightened on his head and tugged him back up to her mouth. “I’ll show you inspired,” she whispered. And then their mouths were meshed together again and their tongues were dueling and her blood was singing through her veins better than any battle or explosion had ever done for her.

The door to the cockpit opened.

A second later, without even removing her mouth from Ezra’s - who had jumped slightly at the sound - Sabine had a blaster in her hand and pointed at the suicidal moron who’d decided to interrupt her precious alone time with her chosen mate.

“Whoa!” Kanan’s voice said, more amused sounding than anything. “You want five more minutes, I can give you five more minutes. But I need to talk to Ezra.”

Huffing into the suddenly frozen mouth she was attached to, Sabine holstered her blaster and pulled away only to rest her forehead against Ezra’s. “Kriff.”

“My thoughts exactly,” he muttered back.

Laughing softly once, she kissed him on the nose and then stood. Scooping up her colourful helmet from the floor beside the co-pilot seat, she said to Ezra, “I want to go find my father and Ketsu anyway. Come find me when you’re done with your chat.”

Ezra caught her hand and squeezed it before she could leave. “I will.”

They exchanged dopey smiles that Sabine was very glad Kanan couldn’t actually see, and then she paused as she passed the smirking Jedi who was leaning up against the side of the doorway with crossed arms. "This mood killing trend better not become a habit, Kanan," she warned, narrowing her eyes at him.

Kanan held up his hands in surrender, mouth twitching. "Wouldn't dream of it. Hera's been wanting you two to get together since forever. She'd kill me if I ruined it."

Ezra had spun his chair the rest of the way around to watch her leave, elbows on knees and chin on fists. A wide grin curled the scars on his cheek upwards. "If that's the case, I say we let him interrupt us a few more times. It's been a while since I've heard Hera give him a good yelling, I kind of miss it."

Kanan gave his Padawan a disgusted look. "What happened to male solidarity?"

Ezra shrugged. "Flew out the airlock with my pride and backbone," he said with a pointed look at Sabine. 

Kanan laughed and Sabine stuck her tongue out at the blue eyed comedian. 

"I suppose I'm on my own now," Kanan said good-naturedly. 

"You still have Chopper," Sabine said helpfully as she continued out the door.

“Not a chance. Exchanging fluids via mouths or other bodily orifices is such a disgusting organic practice,” Chopper beeped as she passed him too.

Sabine rolled her eyes as she heard Ezra choke on a snort behind her. Kanan was probably face palming, but she wasn’t taking the time to look. “And snarky, annoying droids get their memories wiped,” she warned.

“You wouldn’t!” the ancient astromech beeped in an alarmed tone at her back as she continued down the corridor.

“Try me, rustbucket!” she called back, smirking at winning that round.

“No one messes with my Mando girl,” she heard Ezra say proudly just before the door closed.

Sabine grinned. _Nope. _

* * *

_Mando’a translations:_

_Elek = Yes._

_Gar = You, your._

_Gare = Yours. _

_Jetii = Jedi._

_Ner = My, mine._

_Ori’jate = Very good, excellent. As close to slang words like Sweet or Nice as Mando’a gets. _


	15. Thank Kriff for Dads (part 1)

**Thank Kriff for Dads (part 1):**

Kanan told Chopper to go find a charging station or something for fifteen minutes and then closed and locked the door on the droid's indignant beeps with the very clear thought of, _"Sweet revenge," _in his mind, making Ezra laugh. Then he strode over and settled into the co-pilot’s chair, spinning it to the left a quarter turn. Ezra swivelled his chair back around so they were facing each other. One look at the serious expression his Master was suddenly wearing was enough to sober his own mood in an instant as well.

“This is about Vader, isn’t it?” Ezra said solemnly. “I knew we were going to have some decisions to make when Duchess Kryze announced to everyone that he was coming and that their war had only just begun.”

Kanan sighed and nodded before setting his chin on his steepled fingers as he leaned forward, elbows to knees, much like Ezra was still sitting. “We can’t stay here. Can’t sit like suicidal beacons of Force energy for him to find on this dying planet.”

“You’re suggesting we leave the Mandos to fight their own war.” Ezra didn’t like it, but he understood his Master’s point of view. He didn’t particularly want to face Vader again either. And neither of them were quite willing to cut themselves off entirely from the Force so that they could blend in like a normal Human on Mandalore. 

“I’m suggesting that we try and draw him away before he gets here. I don’t know if it will work, but I know that we can both sense him when he’s drawing near. If we go in two different directions, jumping away to Force strong planets, it might be enough to inspire him to follow one of us, and then we can dim our signatures and get lost to him again. It worked the entire time we were on Atollon, it should work again.”

Ezra leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest as he swung his seat from side to side a few fractions with the push of a foot, taking up his favourite thinking pose. After a moment, he said, “It’s worth a shot. I don’t like leaving the Mandos to fight on their own though if he doesn’t take the bait.” _And there’s no way in the Seven Hells I’m leaving Sabine behind. Even if I have to knock her out and carry her away with me._

_Which will make her hate me. _

Kanan sighed again, his burn scarred eyelids closing, and he bowed his head a little in resigned acceptance of what felt like the cowards way out. “I know, Ezra. I don’t like it either. But what choice do we have? If we stay here, Vader will inevitably find us on whatever ship we’re fighting from and come blow us up along with whoever else is in the ship with us. Or if we stay down here on the ground, he’ll find us down here and make us look like untrained younglings again before putting us out of our humiliated misery.”

“Surely we’re good enough to take him on by now, with the two of us?” Ezra protested, because he felt like he should, not because he actually wanted to test that theory. “We’ve improved a lot since we last saw him on Malachor, and way more than a lot since we tried to fight him on Lothal.”

Kanan’s mouth quirked up on one side. “While that’s true, can you honestly say that we could beat Ahsoka right now if she were still alive and with us?”

Ezra frowned at the reminder of his biggest mistake that still tormented him in his nightmares, but he shook his head. “No, probably not. She always wiped the floor with us when we sparred. Those two lightsabres of hers are a definite advantage.”

Kanan chuckled dryly. “Not to mention the fact that she’s incredibly powerful with the Force and that she was trained by the best swordsmen of the time; Skywalker, Kenobi, Yoda, and whoever she could coerce into giving her an extra lesson or two. That girl soaked in new knowledge and fighting styles like a sponge, adapting whatever was helpful to her own unique style.” He shook his head, a bit of envy leaking down their bond. Ezra understood completely, since he had to work his ass off to learn things too.

“She even talked Master Windu into giving her a lesson on defending against Juyo once she was confident with her shoto. The whole Temple turned out to watch, including myself. Windu wasn’t the only one surprised when a tiny, fifteen year old Padawan held her own against him. Skywalker was practically beaming and you would have had to be Force blind not to feel the pride he had in his student.” Kanan smiled at the memory and then his expression fell once more. “And that’s my point. If Ahsoka couldn’t beat Vader, then there’s no way that we could.”

Ezra slumped, sliding down in his chair, chin to chest in sullen acceptance. “You’re right. Of course.” 

Kanan smiled wanly, trying to generate some humour. “Aren’t I always?”

Ezra smiled just as half-heartedly back. “As a supportive Padawan, I think I’m supposed to say yes.”

Kanan narrowed his eyes at him. “Cheeky Padawan with a mind of your own, more like.”

Ezra shrugged, a genuine grin emerging. “You already knew that.”

“I did, from day one, unfortunately,” Kanan said, teasing back.

Ezra huffed good-naturedly and then drew his legs up onto the chair, sitting cross-legged. He leaned forward again. “So what’s the plan? Where are we going?”

Kanan ran a hand over his reddish brown hair, tucking a strand behind his ear that had escaped from the tie at his nape. “I’ll talk to Hera first, but I think I’m going to catch a ride with Ketsu back to Yavin 4. There are old Massassi temples there and I’m sure I heard somewhere that the moon is practically swirling with the Force. If I can’t hide my signature in that, there’s something wrong.”

“True,” Ezra smiled. “And me?”

“You, I’m going to leave up to yourself and Sabine since I don’t think you should leave her alone anytime soon. She might be acting normalish on the outside, but on the inside, she’s still a mess from losing so much of her family at once. She needs you.”

“I know,” Ezra said softly. “If she were a Jedi, I’d say that she very nearly fell to the Dark side on Saxon’s destroyer. And all of this…” he waved a hand in the vague direction of space, “…fighting stuff is just her way of pushing the hurt to the side for now. The way she all but threw herself into our new relationship too, it’s just a cover so she doesn’t have to think about it. Not that I’m complaining,” he added with mixed hints of pride, joy, embarrassment, and consternation colouring his Force aura.

“I’m glad you can see that,” Kanan said approvingly. “I’m not so sure you would have even a year ago; you’ve matured a lot lately.”

“Thanks, Kanan,” Ezra said, beaming and blushing, glad his Master couldn’t see the later, even if he undoubtedly could sense it. “So, if you were me, where would you go?”

The Jedi Knight shrugged slightly. “There are a few options that I can think of, such as Lothal or Takodana, but I have a feeling you’ll end up on Krownest for now. From what I know of Mandalorian culture – which isn’t much – Sabine has some things to deal with now that she’s the Countess.”

“Yeah, I can imagine. You think the Force is strong enough there to hide me?”

“Barely, but yes. If you shut your signature down to the barest minimum. And you can always jump planet if you get any sort or warning from the Force, which it particularly seems to like to give you.” Kanan paused and tilted his head a little. “Have I ever told you that your easy affinity for visions and animals is incredibly rare?”

Ezra raised a brow. “No, you haven’t. You mean you’ve let me think I was just a normal Jedi all this time when I’m not?”

Kanan smirked. “Maybe. I didn’t want your ego to prevent you from fitting through doorways.”

“I wouldn’t…” Ezra started to protest and then stopped, remembering how much of a bratty kid he’d been when they’d first met. “Okay, maybe a little.”

“Yes, you would,” Kanan smirked wider. “And Sabine could barely stand you as is back then. Trust me, I was doing you a favour.”

“All right. So you had your reasons. So I’m special then?”

Kanan reached across the space between them and rubbed his buzz cut hair fondly. “Yeah, you’re special. Even without the extra Force gifts. Ahsoka and I talked about it once when she realized that you were far from normal after you’d had a third vision in as many days and we both agree that you would have been placed as a Force Seer in the Temple.”

“What’s that mean?”

“It means they would have trained you to develop your connection with the Force to encourage even more visions and your job would literally be to predict the future for the Council to make decisions on.”

“Whoa. Sounds important.”

“It was. Grand Master Yoda was also a Seer, the last one alive before the Order fell.”

“Hunh. And what about the animal thing?” 

Kanan chuckled. “Pretending that you didn’t receive visions and warnings for all and sundry, then the ‘animal thing’ would have put you in a position to travel the galaxy to help with problems relating to animals such as wild nexu terrorizing a village.”

“Now that sounds more like me.” Ezra smirked, imagining a life like that if the Order had never fallen and the Empire hadn’t taken over. _Maybe I would have stumbled upon Sabine somewhere along the way. _

Kanan smirked back. “Agreed. I can’t see you cooped up in the Temple either.” 

“I probably would have hated it. But then again, if I had been raised in the Temple like you, I wouldn’t have known anything else, would I?”

“No, you wouldn’t. It was a completely different life than what you once described your childhood as being like. No picnics. No birthday parties. No presents. No cuddles.” Kanan was frowning now, and a hint of bitterness trickled down their bond before the older Jedi almost visibly shook himself back into the present and his usual peaceful aura. Ezra hurt for him. As much as Kanan had said that the Jedi weren’t slaves, everything he’d learned so far about the old Order made him think that they most definitely were.

A sudden knowing passed over Ezra and he looked at his Master with deadly serious blue eyes. “I will never bring back that Order, no matter how many other Force users I stumble across or raise as my own children.”

Kanan’s eyebrows rose for a moment in surprise and then he nodded once. “And I would never ask you to. That Order was flawed in so many ways. That was another thing Ahsoka and I talked about one night – how we wouldn’t go back to it even if they would let us back in with Hera and Rex all but permanently attached to us at the lips and hips.” He grinned, cloudy eyes shining as much as they could with his own twisted brand of humour.

Ezra snorted and shuddered. “Force, Kanan, I didn’t need that image. I just got this picture of all four of you writhing around on a bed together.”

Kanan blinked, then blinked again before bursting into laughter. “Kriff…” snort “Now it’s in my head too. Thanks a lot.”

“You’re welcome,” Ezra chuckled.

“Not that it ever happened, mind – Ahsoka was fiercely territorial about Rex and Hera isn’t into sharing me either – but that sure would have been something.”

Ezra’s brows went up. “Wait, why do I get the feeling that you wouldn’t have been opposed to a group thing?”

Kanan shrugged, blushing a bit across his cheekbones. “I kinda went a little wild after I gave up the Force and my Jedi ways and before I met Hera. Singles, groups, females, males, a wide variety of species, as long as it came with the illusion of affection and booze so that I could forget what I’d lost, I honestly didn’t care. Some of that’s still in me I guess.”

Ezra gawked at his Master, eyes wide. “I’ll say. You’re lucky you didn’t end up dead of some freaky disease.”

“Don’t I know it,” Kanan said grimly, now staring blankly at the floor with his unseeing eyes. “Or alcohol poisoning. Hera is honestly the best thing that ever happened to me. She held me through the withdrawal shakes. Stopped me from committing suicide when the depression hit worse than ever. Convinced me that I was worth something even without any Force powers. Let me love her even when I was sure I wasn’t worthy of kissing so much as her hand. Talked me into giving the Force a chance again. Talked me into giving you a chance.” He looked up at Ezra again, expression intense and oh so serious. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for that woman, nothing.”

Ezra honestly didn’t know how to feel at that soul bearing confession. There was just too much to process, but he did know how to respond to it thanks to the two families he’d been blessed with in his life so far; he stood and wrapped his arms around his Master’s shoulders from the side, hugging him tight and pressing his forehead to Kanan’s temple. “I'm sorry for what you went through," he whispered, throat tight with emotion. "I know what it feels like to lose everything too, and I undoubtedly would have ended up on a similar path if I hadn't stumbled upon you guys. And I understand how you feel about Hera too. I’d follow Sabine into the furthest, blackest, most dangerous corner of the galaxy if she asked me to. But I’d follow you there, too, because of everything you’ve done for me. Everything you’ve taught me. You might have been out of control and confused for a while, but you have always been a good person. I have no doubt that Hera saw that, and I saw it too, when I met you. You shine, Kanan, so brightly. Your Force gift might not be as flashy as visions and talking to animals but I think it’s way more important.”

Kanan hung onto Ezra’s left forearm in return, eyes burning a little with the urge to leak moisture at the support and at how wretchedly and then perfectly similar their lives were, both going from miserable orphans to blessed with more love than they knew what to do with. “And what is that?” he asked huskily.

Ezra squeezed him just a little tighter. “You SEE people and you help us be the best versions of ourselves. I believe your gift is the purest form of Force Sight. Zeb was broken when you found him. Sabine was broken. I bet even Hera was a little bit too. And I had been crying on the inside for someone to love me, to see me as something other than a useless street rat. You say that Hera was the one to talk you into keeping me, but it was you who knew what to say to make me come back. It’s always been you who knew how to bring me back.”

Kanan turned his head and grasped the back of Ezra’s with one slightly trembling hand, pressing their foreheads together, cloudy teal eyes locking onto royal blue, making the boy feel like Kanan was looking right into his soul. (He probably was) “Ezra. Kriff. If I never have the chance to raise any children of my own blood - which is highly likely since Human/Twi'lek hybrids are very rare - it won’t matter, because I’ll always consider you my son. I’m so proud of you, you know that, right?”

Ezra blinked back the threatening tears that were clogging his sinuses and throat and mustered a smile from somewhere as he gave Kanan one last squeeze before pulling away. “I do. That handy bond thing, you know.”

Kanan chuckled and rose to his feet, hand coming to Ezra’s shoulder and squeezing tight for a moment. “I know. Now you should go find Sabine and work out what you’re doing. I’m going to comm Hera and then go in search of Ketsu and beg a ride.”

“Sounds good to me,” Ezra nodded as he started backing towards the door, more than ready to abandon ship before they got any more emotional and started bawling like little kids. “Tell Hera hi for me.”

“Will do.” Kanan smiled brightly, belying the glimmer of moisture in his eyes that Ezra politely pretended he didn’t see. “If you see Chopper, tell him to get his metal carcass in here.”

“Will do,” Ezra parroted, now grinning again. He triggered the locked door to open with a wave of his hand as he approached and then laughed as the orange astromech was just about to bang a manipulator against the durasteel. “No need. Chopper’s here.”

“And I’ve been here for the last seven and three quarter minutes!” he beeped indignantly, waving his manipulators around as he rolled into the cockpit. “You organics have no sense of time!”

“Oh, the indignity,” Ezra said sarcastically as he moved out into the corridor. “Your life as a droid is so tough. I feel for you, I really do.” _Not._

“Thank you. It’s about time someone other than Hera understood.” Chopper beeped, not registering the sarcasm at all.

Kanan met his gaze and they both rolled their eyes at each other, inspiring quick grins.

_“Good luck with his royal highness, there,” _Ezra sent via their bond.

_“Thanks,” _Kanan thought back dryly. He waved a hand and the door closed and locked again almost in Ezra’s face.

The young Jedi snorted softly, knowing that meant that Kanan thought his conversation with Hera would probably stray into the ‘private’ category. Although, how he could be inspired to talk anything even remotely sexy with Chopper as the conduit between them was beyond Ezra’s ability to fathom.

Deciding not to dwell on it any longer before too many unwanted mental images decided to insert themselves into his mind, Ezra strode down the hallway quickly, eager to find Sabine and talk about their future together.

Even if it was just short-term for now. He’d work up to long-term plans with her when the time was right.

Plans that included those Mandalorian wedding vows he’d memorized years ago.


	16. Thank Kriff for Dads (part 2)

**A/N: I just want to clarify something since there seems to be a bit of confusion and a few unhappy readers. In the last chapter, I didn’t mean to imply that Kanan had been a playboy or a manwhore. What he WAS was desperate, depressed, addicted to alcohol, and very very lonely. He sought out companionship because he couldn’t stand to be alone, all the while hating himself for it; which just made him drink more. He wouldn’t have wanted to quite admit all that Ezra, though, in their talk, so it didn’t come across as something Ezra registered, since the chapter was from his POV. I apologize if I burst your happy Kanan bubble, but I was trying to put a bit of realism into this particular story.**

**Also, someone said they wanted me to go back to the original storyline of Version 1 because this one is going to get depressing, but, the thing is, I'm not actually changing my plot that much. The original was also going to have everything go to hell as well, just not as quickly. (Thank you, The Mandalorian, for putting the Great Purge into my radar.) The Empire was always going to show up to retaliate against Bo-Katan's success and some people are still going to die, prompting Ezra to use the World between Worlds to fix things. The only things I've really changed is Jett and Ketsu's storyline and adding a ton more scenes from other people's POVs. If you can't take a dose of depressing tragedy with your fluff, then stop reading now and go find one of my other, much happier fics. **

* * *

**Thank Kriff for Dads (part 2): **

Sabine strode off Ezra’s Gauntlet, only pausing at the top of the ramp to look over the other parked ships. She didn’t see Ketsu’s low profile Shadow Caster on first glance, but the gold, black, and silver paint of the Jai’galaar was easily spotted and recognized only a few Kom’rks over.

Seeing the ship reminded her of what she’d lost, because it was her mother’s. One of her favourite things, in fact, right after Father, Tristan, and her armour. Ursa Wren had loved flying nearly as much as Hera did, but her duties as Countess had kept her grounded more often than not.

_And now she’ll never fly again. _

_And Tristan… Tristan will never have the chance to find his cyar’ika. Never explore his newly discovered talent for making metal sculptures. Never grow up to be the next Count Wren like he should have been, since I never wanted the job. _

_But it’s mine now anyway._

Sabine swallowed back a tiny, sobbing gasp, her heart breaking all over again and continued towards the ship, hoping her father was still on board.

He was.

She found him alone in the open cockpit, slumped over in the pilot’s chair, face buried in his hands, causing her to hover in the doorway.

He looked just as miserable as she felt, which only worsened because the picture was all wrong.

Her mother should be in the pilot's chair and her brother should be in the co-pilot's, celebrating today’s victory. Her father should be at home on Krownest or at his art gallery in Sundari. But he wasn't, and the later had been confiscated and trashed by the Empire's brainwashed troopers. And she... She should have been able to stay with Ezra and her other family on the Ghost.

_Is it wrong that all I want right now is to hide in his arms and disappear from the galaxy for a while?_

_But I can’t. I’m the bloody shabla Countess now. I have duties. Responsibilities. Obligations. My relatively carefree life is over. _

_Forever. _

_And all because I was too smart and too cocky and too stupid. Why did I have to invent the Duchess in the first place? _

She'd thought she'd hated herself before, when the Empire had first tested it against her people years ago. Now it had murdered a portion of her clan and family, and she downright loathed her past self at the moment. _All of this was HER fault._

_If I could go back in time, I'd probably murder my younger self right now._

_Kriff, I need more of Ezra's upbeat enthusiasm right now. I’m getting depressingly morbid._

_But, oh stars, Dad… He looks so sad. He lost more than I did. _

Closing the door behind her for privacy, Sabine walked slowly over to her father and knelt on the floor beside him, putting her helmet down.

“Sabine,” he murmured, finally moving his hands and letting them fall limply to his knees. His amber eyes were damp and looked just as morose as she felt.

“I’m sorry, Father,” she whispered, putting a hand over one of his and squeezing gently.

His other hand came to rest over hers so they held each other and he shook his head. “No. You have nothing to be sorry for. You’ve done amazing things today, my Daughter. Your mother would be proud of what you have accomplished. I know I am." He gulped as his voice wavered and she could see how he was visibly trying to keep it together for her sake.

Sabine bit her lower lip to stop the trembling, but the sorrow was fighting past her willpower again. She turned her face away, not able to look at him, or she would start bawling like a child. "But I do,” she whispered to the floor. “I have so much to atone for. I’m sorry I invented the weapon. Sorry I trusted in the Empire. Sorry I failed you all. Sorry I didn’t manage to rescue you sooner. Sorry I killed Mother and Tristan. And some cousins and second cousins. And... I'm not even sure who else.” She paused, gulping in air, and then peeked upwards for only half a moment, seeing wide eyes that looked so much like hers glistening with moisture. “I'm sorry I killed your cyar'ika and treasured son."

"Sabine, stop." he interrupted her before she could start claiming responsibility for every death caused by the Empire. Alrich Wren slid off the chair and knelt in front of her on the hard decking, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to look at him again "You did NOT kill Ursa and Tristan."

"But..." her lower lip trembled even more pathetically as tears welled in her eyes.

"No!" he said, shaking her shoulders just a little. "No, you didn't, and stop blaming yourself for it, because I do not, and does my opinion not count the most?"

Sabine abused her lower lip some more for a few moments as she mulled that over, and then she nodded slowly and finally whispered, “Yes.”

Her father sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. But when he spoke again, the truth and wisdom in his words made her respect for him grow even further. "Yes, they died by a weapon that you invented, but if you manufactured blasters, would you claim the deaths of every person shot by one?"

She immediately saw where he was going with this. "No. The person holding the blaster is the killer," she said quietly. "I understand." She sniffled. "But that isn't going to help me sleep any better."

Alrich smiled wanly as he rubbed his hands comfortingly up and down her arms between shoulder guards and elbow pads. "That, I can sympathize with. I haven't slept well for a very long time. Not since your mother cast you out. I loved her more than anything, don't get me wrong, but we've lived separately ever since she did that to you. I could not forgive her for choosing her honour over our daughter.”

Sabine gasped. “Oh, Dad. You didn’t. Not for me. Your relationship was one of the few things that made Mother happy.”

“I know. Shab, do I know,” he choked, bowing his head in remorse, hands falling into his lap again as he clenched them together. “The Saxons caught me because I was alone. My own shabla fault. I regret it all, now, so much. I thought there was time. So much more time. I always believed that you would come back and that she and I could go back to the way things were because my point had been made.”

Sabine hurt for him. Her chest ached something awful. “Dad…”

He shook his head, swiping at his eyes a little angrily before any of the welling tears could fall. “And then you did, and I didn’t even know it. Not until only a few days ago, thanks to Tristan’s friend, Adnar, who was put on my guard duty. He told me that you had reconciled with your mother, had dueled Gar Saxon and won, with the shabla Darksabre of all things, and that Clan Wren was rebelling from Imperial rule." Their eyes met again as he looked up, a fierce look on his usually calm and good-natured face. "I am so proud of what you have accomplished all on your own. I know nothing would have changed if you had not come home and made it happen. You always were my Little Fighter. It warms my heart to have you back in my life. I missed you so much, Sabine."

And now his tears fell and she couldn’t stop her own anymore.

"Daddy," she sobbed and threw herself forward and into his arms, burying her face in his chest as they finally grieved together for what they had lost. "I missed you too,” she whispered. “So much." _And I'm still sorry. So much so that my heart breaks into a million miserable pieces with it. _

* * *

Ezra bounded down the ramp of the Gauntlet and then followed his long-ago-developed internal radar towards Sabine, which happened to guide him a few ships over to the right.

Inside the camp, what seemed like herds of Mandalorian warriors were cheering and laughing, pounding each other’s backs, making out in shadowy corners (or in plain sight, to the amusement of those around them), drinking what looked like copious amounts of alcoholic beverages, and play fighting like children as they celebrated their victory. Only a few had actually sat down at the tables to eat so far.

Ezra smiled at them as he walked, the joy radiating in the Force around him infectious. He saw Fenn with Bo-Katan, talking to each other as they shared a plate of food, their body language practically screaming, ‘I think you’re hot and want to pounce on you, but we just met yesterday, so I’ll wait a few more minutes.’ Ezra felt like cheering them on, only refraining because of the distance was too far to yell easily. He'd tell them that life was short and much too uncertain these days to waste on silly things like decorum and restraint.

Arriving at the Gauntlet that Sabine had told him was named the Jai’galaar (which meant shriek-hawk), Ezra peered up the ramp, mentally scanning for other Force signatures. He only found Sabine and her father. And they felt like they were very close together; hugging most likely. Add that to the sorrow he could feel from Sabine, and Ezra decided that it was best to leave them alone for a while longer. So he walked up the ramp most of the way and then turned and sat, getting a better view of the bustling camp.

While he people watched, Ezra memorized more Mando’a words to add to his growing vocabulary by listening to the louder broadcast thoughts and matching them to the words that came out of their mouths. Unsurprisingly, considering what they'd just done, battle related words were the most common, like victory (parjai), justice (tor), and space war (tra’akaan). If felt good to be accomplishing something useful, since he was going to be Sabine's significant other. He didn't want to embarrass her by not knowing her language or make her life any harder than it already was.

He'd seen the looks some of the Mandos had given her last night at dinner with him sitting beside her. They hadn't done anything more exciting in public than a few kisses to the cheek and put their arms around each other, but that had been enough to upset more than a few people. They were clearly not happy with him being a Jedi, and some still resented her for inventing the Duchess, even though she'd vowed to destroy it again. The least he could do was learn her language. There was no helping who he was though. Ezra would never be able to just give up being a Jedi, not even for Sabine.

He was proud of who he'd become. It had taken a lot of work, a lot of sweat and tears, a lot of backwards and sideways steps as the Dark side tried to lure him away from Kanan's teachings, but he was finally content with who he was now. Everything within him just felt right. Balanced. He was living a life somewhere between the Jedi of old and a more normal life of a person who came with a family and was very much attached to them. It worked for Kanan, and it worked for him.

Which made him wonder why the old Jedi Order frowned so heavily on attachments. _If Kanan and I can do it, then why not everyone else?_ _Even Ahsoka had said the attachment rule was a bunch of bantha poodoo._ She'd once said she considered her Masters to be her father and brother, and that most Master / Padawan relationships developed into the familial quickly if they'd been paired correctly. And before she'd died, he knew for a fact that she and Rex had been talking about getting formally married (on top of the secret Mando’a vows they’d made back when they were still fighting the Clone Wars) as a ‘kriff you’ to the galaxy at large who still believed the clones weren’t any better than flesh droids.

Of course, that line of thought made him think of poor Rex, who still wasn't the same, and that was about a year and a half ago now, which just increased the guilt that sat on Ezra’s shoulders like a full-grown gundark for her death. The old-before-his-time clone hadn’t even really cheered up when they finally found someone to reverse-engineer the accelerated aging gene and set it to go the other way. There was actually some dark brown in his beard now and hair had started to grow hair on top of his head again, also dark brown to match his eyebrows. (Apparently, he used to dye his hair blond to draw attention away from the fact that he had a slight mutation in regards to his hair colour; except for a few with even more obvious mutations, all the other clones had black hair.) You could definitely see that he, Wolffe, and Gregor were getting younger again as their faces slowly smoothed out. They planned to have the gene disabled when they looked their proper age, which should be about forty-five by the time it evened out, since they were thirty-two now, but looked like sixty something's.

Curious at how Sabine was doing, he peeked at her feelings again and flinched as an even stronger wave of sorrow hit him than before.

Now he was left with the conundrum of whether or not to go try and comfort her or to leave her be, since she was with her father. He wished he could ask Kanan for advice on how to deal with a miserable female that was now more than your friend, but he was talking to Hera and he didn't want to interrupt them. And... Kanan was blocking him anyway. That could only mean that Kanan and Hera were having one of THOSE conversations, which Ezra wanted absolutely nothing to do with.

On the other hand, he wouldn't mind having one of THOSE conversations with Sabine. Just the thought of it was enough to wake up the one track mind of the appendage in his pants. Ezra scolded it back into sleep mode by picturing Darth Vader, with his ice cold aura and that menacing red lightsabre held to his throat.

_Yep, that did it._ His entire body was cringing now.

_Works every time, _he thought with a mental huff of relief and amusement.

But when it came to Sabine and her incredibly hot figure in that bodysuit that she didn't always have the concealing armour attached to, or her silky blue pajama set that left her arms and most of her legs bare and did nothing to hide the shape of her breasts... Let's just say he needed to picture Darth Vader a lot.

Living in a confined space with the girl of your dreams, but not being able to touch her, was both a blessing and the worst form of torture. It was also a good way to inspire him to practice his meditation more frequently to help with body control.

_Thank the Force she’s finally returned my interest. Maybe now I won’t have to meditate so much or resort to cold showers or picture my worst nightmare anywhere near as often. I am SO looking forward to the benefits of being in a real relationship._

Not that he wouldn't have waited another decade if he had to, because he most definitely would have, for her. But he doubted anyone would blame him for exalting over her loving him back and his looking forward to applying all of his fantasies to real life.

Which didn’t really bring him back to his current conundrum, but he was there anyway in an instant as Sabine’s pain seeped into his mind again when her shields wavered. _Should I go comfort her again?_

It had been easier when they were just friends and he didn't have an instant link to her feelings. Back then, even if he felt her in a dejected mood, it hadn’t been his place to try and cheer her up except in a roundabout fashion that didn't give away the fact that he was sensitive to the feelings of his family. Now that they were bonded for real, her emotions felt like his own and he felt compelled to do something to help her.

But she was still Sabine. Still the girl who liked her space and to deal with her stuff on her own. He didn't know how much she'd welcome his interference now that they were... _Dating? Engaged? Friends with benefits?_ _What are we, anyway? Force, I hope it’s not the last one._

Shrugging that question off for later, he focused on his current problem; whether or not to barge into the ship and distract her into feeling happier again. She'd welcomed his presence last night, but that didn't mean she'd do it again, not with her father present. Maybe not even if she was all alone.

He waffled for another minute, but finally decided to throw caution to the wind. _The worst she'll probably do is yell at me, and she's done that plenty over the years, so that won't be anything new._

Decision made, he was up and striding into the ship in an instant and aiming for Sabine's signature at the front of the large troop fighter.

He paused at the closed cockpit door, second-guessing himself again. Sabine was still feeling sad, but happiness was creeping in there as well along with a hint of mortification. _What to do? What to do?_

Scrunching up one side of his face from the indecision eating at him, his finger nevertheless moved towards the button to open the door. In slow motion.

* * *

The Wrens cried together for a few minutes before their stubborn and prideful Mando natures kicked back in and dried up the flood of vulnerable emotional displays. But they stayed in the hug for a long time, not saying anything, but taking comfort in each other.

Eventually, Alrich stroked his hand over his daughter’s artistically styled light hair - that was about as far from her (and her mother's) natural colour of dark chocolate brown as it could get – one more time and then pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Much as I’d love to hold you like this forever, my Sab’ika, my poor knees have passed the point of protesting this floor and are now just whimpering pathetically.”

Sabine giggled as she pulled out of his arms and stood easily. She held out a hand for him to grab. “Poor Dad, getting old. If you wore your armour like the rest of us, you’d have knee pads on, just sayin’.”

Alrich accepted her help gratefully, once again marveling at how strong she was despite her tiny stature as she pulled him up effortlessly. They both heard his knees crack as he straightened, causing them both to laugh. He grinned. “I might have to consider that, especially if you give me grandkids to crawl around after.”

“Dad!” she blushed, smacking his arm playfully. “Too soon! I’ve been in a relationship for one whole day so far, if that! Kids are not in the near future, trust me.”

Alrich raised a brow, his mouth quirking up on one side knowingly. _Not if the sparks that fly between you and that Jedi boy have any say in the matter, _he thought smugly, but merely said, “We’ll see.”

She blushed darker and bent to pick up her helmet. “Not happening, Dad, so give up.”

“Nope. Might even have to start a betting pool,” he teased as they started walking towards the door.

“Don’t you dare,” she warned, turning and narrowing her eyes at him, just like her mother.

Their similarities hit him like a punch in the gut, but he held his grin through it determinedly. “You know me... When it comes to words or paint, I’d dare anything,” he snarked as he hit the button to open the door.

His daughter’s Jedi was standing on the other side, his hand poised over the opposite button. Alrich wasn’t surprised to see him there; the young couple were nearly attached at the hip already, as far as he could tell.

"Hi! I was just..." the young man started as he smiled shaakishly at Sabine and Alrich (but mostly Sabine), moving his hovering hand to rub at the back of his neck. The older man chuckled under his breath while Sabine’s demeanour changed almost instantly; her stance softening and an entirely different blush crossing her cheekbones. _Sparks. So many sparks. _

"Coming to get us?" Sabine supplied helpfully with a teasing smile as she reached for his rubbing hand as it lowered and laced her fingers with his.

"Yeah. That." The boy grinned dopily at his daughter as her smile widened.

Watching Sabine settle so quickly into happiness at the sight of her Jedi made Alrich like the energetic blue-eyed boy even more than he already had. _And I’ll do whatever is necessary to make sure no one takes him from her._

_Not my clan. Not another Mando. And most certainly not Vader. _


	17. Never Too Far Apart (part 1)

**Never Too Far Apart (part 1):**

_Yavin IV…_

Hera was roused by the chiming of the comm. Not that she minded. Her sleep had been restless and lonely anyway without Kanan’s warm and firm body beside her to snuggle into. Not to mention the niggling worry about her family that constantly gnawed at the back of her mind.

She reached over to the table beside her bunk and blearily scooped up the noisy disk, flicking it on as she noticed that her chrono read just after 3 A.M. Yavin time. “Yes?” she said a little hoarsely to the blueish blur that popped up, and then cleared her throat so she didn’t sound like a frog.

“I’m sorry, darling. Did I wake you?”

Hera’s blood thrummed to life instantly at the sound of her mate’s voice. “Only a little,” she said with a relieved smile that he’d survived the battle on (or above) Mandalore. She pushed herself up into a sitting position with her back against the wall. _And he doesn’t look or sound broken, so that means the kids are still safe and in one piece as well, thank Force._ With that worry off her mind, she balanced the comm on one of her raised knees and then rubbed the sleep out of her eyes so she could fully appreciate the holo image of her precious, handsome Jedi. “I wasn’t sleeping well anyway. And you know I’d rather talk to you than sleep by myself.”

She drank in the way his eyes crinkled at the corners and the upward curve of his lips into his moustache as he smiled. “I do seem to recall something to that effect.” But then his expression sobered again. “I don’t sleep well without you either.” Her chest tightened with emotion as he closed his eyes and reached out a hand as if he was imagining himself stroking the upper curve of a lek. “I miss you. I wish I could touch you.”

His confession made her heart break with sympathy as she thought the same, but then she shivered as a phantom touch that felt exactly as if his calloused, strong, but oh-so-gentle fingers had run down the top of her left lek. “Uhhhhh, Kanan, I think you just did.”

His eyes popped open and his hand fell. “What?”

“Touch me. You touched me. You know, with your invisible hands that you drive me nuts with at the most inappropriate times?”

Kanan raised his gloved hand to look at with his blind eyes incredulously. “No fragging way!”

She giggled. “Way, love.”

“Karabast,” he breathed, borrowing from Zeb’s vocabulary, much like Ezra had. “I’ve only ever touched you like that from within the same room. I had no idea it would work from so far apart.”

She was kind of surprised as well, but not too much, since she’d always had more faith in his abilities than he did. “I guess there’s no such thing as too far apart and you’re much stronger with the Force than you think.”

“Hunh. I suppose, with our strong bond, it is possible.” Kanan contemplated his hand for another few seconds as he wiggled his fingers around before he clenched it in a fist and then relaxing it. “Okay. Let’s try this on purpose.”

“Sure,” she said, eager to connect with him in any way she could. Even if it was just him manipulating the air molecules around her (or whatever he did) from afar to imitate his own touch. 

Kanan closed his eyes again as she watched his image with a smile strongly leaning towards adoring awe that she was kind of happy he couldn’t see, because she probably looked like a fawning fangirl. (Ever since she was a little girl and she’d seen the miraculous feats the Jedi had performed during the war, they'd always been heroes to her. The fact that she'd landed one for her mate was still a little unbelievable but most welcome.) His hand rose slightly and the bare fingers not covered by the leather glove moved in a caressing motion.

Her eyes half closed in delight as the sensation of his touch brushed across her cheek. “Mmmmm,” she hummed. “This is nice.”

“You feel this?” he asked as his hand moved down and the phantom caress glided down her neck and over her shoulder, brushing the thin strap of her camisole down with it.

“Oh, I feel it, all right,” she said in a cross between amusement and the beginnings of arousal. “Not even thirty seconds in and you’re already undressing me.”

“You want me to stop?”

The smirk tugging up the corner of his lips said he already knew the answer.

“Don’t you dare,” she said anyway, shivering as the ghost touch whispered back up the length of her lek.

“Didn’t think so,” he husked, adding his second hand and running down her other lek. “Which top are you wearing?”

Hera leaned into his touch as it felt like he was nibbling on her neck just where she liked and his hand moved to her other shoulder. “Ooooooo, kriff. Do that some more.” She swore she felt him smile against her neck as he obliged. “The creamy gold silk one with the lace trim.”

“Oh. I like that one. It looks so good against your pretty green skin.”

“Thank you, love,” she flushed with pleasure at his words as the other strap of her camisole was magically pushed off her shoulder and he tugged the whole thing down so that her already pointed breasts were exposed to the air.

“I also love peeling it off of you.” He cracked his eyes open for a moment and grinned at her as if he was seeing her holo image too. (That had disconcerted her only once after he’d been blinded, but then she realized that he could always see the true her, whether it was with his eyes or not.)

“I know you do, love.”

“Force, I’ve imagined making love to you so many times in the past, this is almost easy. It’s almost like you’re here with me.”

“Stars, I wish,” she gasped as he cupped her breasts and strummed the nipples with his thumbs. “But I think it’s more like you’re here with me than the other way around.”

“Very true,” he admitted, his touch stilling but not leaving. “I’d much rather be at home with you on the Ghost than here on Mandalore talking via a droid that’s most likely going to blackmail us for this later.”

“You know it!” Chopper beeped into their conversation. “Making a poor old astromech observe your organic consummation rituals should be illegal or something.”

“Chopper!” Hera and Kanan practically yelled at the same time.

“You know the rules,” Hera added, frustrated that Kanan’s phantom touch had disappeared. “No interrupting our private conversations no matter what you hear or I’ll turn you off and paint you blue and silver like a certain droid that you can’t stand.”

“Sorry,” the astromech beeped sullenly and then was silent.

They waited a few more seconds just be sure, and then Kanan said, “Sorry, darling. I never should have mentioned him. Did I kill the mood?”

She huffed and then shook her head, a rueful smile forming. “No. If we had let things like being interrupted by Chopper or the kids ruin the mood, then we’d never get any fun time in at all.”

Kanan laughed. “Very true.” His cloudy eyes narrowed teasingly as he stroked his neatly trimmed beard with the side of a thoughtful finger. “Now… Where was I?”

“I think you were about to sneak one of your naughty invisible hands into my underwear again,” she suggested.

One of his sharp eyebrows rose as his mouth twitched with suppressed amusement. “Oh, I was, was I?”

Hera nodded, moving the holo comm to beside her and spreading her knees a bit in anticipation. “You were, I’m almost sure of it.”

“In that case…” He closed his eyes and she felt his large but worshipful hands on her breasts again. And then one trailed down her side, over the bunched up fabric of her camisole, and then onto the curve of her hip and under the elastic waistband of the comfortable boxer-like shorts she slept in. (There was once a time when her sleepwear consisted of formfitting panties that hardly covered anything to go along with her camisoles, or even an actual nightgown of the sexy variety, but then Zeb and the kids had joined the crew and things had to change for the sake of decency since she never knew who she’d encounter on a trip to the refresher in the middle of the night.)

She closed her eyes too and just let herself feel the electric pleasure as his fingers brushed over her core and then again and again, teasing her with whisper light touches. His second hand moved down her side as well and then continued down the length of her leg and back up again in an appreciative caress before he nudged her knee over, asking her to open to him even more.

She was more than happy to as she felt a long finger push inside her already weeping channel, caressing her insides a few times before he added a second finger and moving in a steady rhythm guaranteed to coil her pleasure higher and higher. “Force, Kanan,” she gasped. “At least I’m not flying with an audience this time,” she said between panting breaths as her head fell back against the wall and she grabbed a handful of bedding on either side of her.

The Jedi gunslinger who sometimes had a wretched sense of humour laughed, the husky tones sounding like a siren call to her earcones. “But you liked the challenge of flying that test course while staying silent as I made you come, didn’t you, my beautiful adrenaline junkie?”

“Yes!” she cried as he added stimulation to her ultra sensitive bud as well as the motions of his fingers inside her. “Oh, stars, yes. I loved it, and you know it, you nerfherder.”

“And that’s why I did it, darling,” he rumbled before going silent again, concentrating on his task.

The tension in her core coiled tighter and tighter as he stroked her expertly. Somehow knowing she was close, he magically mouthed her neck again and stroked his hand up and down one of her lekku, sending her over the edge in less than a minute of overstimulated bliss.

Long used to peaking in silence due to thin walls and unconventional trysts in dangerous places, Hera moaned nearly soundlessly as her back arched for a dozen long, perfect seconds.

Kanan’s touch slowly gentled and then stilled as he helped her ride it out as long as possible and then eased her back down to reality.

When she could breathe properly again, she opened her eyes and turned her head to gaze gratefully at his very satisfied looking holo image. (Not that he could see it, but she had no doubt he could he could sense her emotions, even from so far away.) “Thank you, love. That was amazing, as always.”

His lips curled higher. “Anytime, darling.” And then he chuckled. “Literally, I suppose, considering that it’s possible that no distance is too far anymore.”

She returned to sitting in a more dignified fashion as her limbs regained their strength, pulling her camisole back up where it belonged and putting the comm unit back on her blanket covered knee. She grinned at his image. “Don’t worry, dear. I won’t ask you to stop in mid battle or something just to make me feel good.”

He snorted softly, scarred eyes crinkling with amusement for a moment before he looked at her with his heart shining through the milky teal irises. “I didn’t expect that you would. But there’s no just about it. I live to make you feel good in whatever way you want me to, and I always will.”

_Stars, can I love this man any more than I already do? _Hera thought as her heart all but melted to a useless puddle in her chest, filling it with love infused imaginary goo. “Ditto, my gorgeous, strong, and talented Jedi mate,” she whispered, wishing she could hold him through the holo and kiss him senseless. But since she didn’t have magical powers, she made do with the next best thing; her voice.

Sounding as throaty as she could manage, knowing how much that turned him on, she added, “And guess what, my love?”

“What?”

“It’s your turn.”


	18. Reunited and Loving It (part 1)

**Reunited and Loving It (part 1): **

Still high on the thrill of battle, having personally dispatched fifty-seven Imperial TIEs on their one way trip to the frigid graveyard of space, and then the (not really) even more fun job of ferrying a cargo hold full of unconscious prisoners to the Kryze stronghold on the other side of the planet for processing, Ketsu landed the Shadow Caster as close as she could get to the big camp that was out in the desert, not too terribly far from Sundari but not in seeing distance either. The camp was surrounded by a large herd of diversely coloured ships, almost all of which were manufactured by MandalMotors, just like hers.

Unfortunately, her parking spot happened to be on the opposite side of the camp from Ezra’s red and black Kom’rk and the Clan Wren Jai’galaar.

Also unfortunately, she’d already spotted at least two ships painted in the Clan Onyo colours of purple, gold, and brown, and that was without actively looking for them.

Which left her with the choice of walking right through the camp and possibly running into someone who would recognize her (and not in a good way) or walking all the way around it and still running the risk of the above.

Being a ‘what the hell’ kind of girl, she chose to go right through.

She disembarked her prized possession and wound her way through the haphazard parking lot until she came to the back entrance of the walled camp. Even from here, she could easily hear the hundreds of voices talking, singing, and shouting as people fought to be heard above the others. The guard at the gate leaned against the wall, looking as disgusted to be there as a person could get while wearing a helmet, which she found amusing in a ‘haha, glad it’s not me’ way. _I bet he’s wishing he was partying with the others._ _Hopefully they rotate him off duty soon, because he looks like he couldn't give a flying frag who walks into the camp, _she thought with a mental eye roll as he waved her past without even asking her name. _Now that’s just sloppy. He should be recording every person who enters, just in case something happens._

_Oh well. Not my problem._

She walked past a small village's worth of tents and then stopped at the edge of the gathering area. As she scanned the crowd, looking for her petite and vibrantly coloured best friend, Ketsu cursed herself for not wearing her helmet, knowing that someone was bound to recognize her if they looked long enough; there weren't that many dark skinned and purple eyed Human Mandalorians running around out there. And all of those that were, were all descended from the Count of Clan Onyo who had the same colouring. The Count who just happened to be her father.

Ketsu still cringed when she thought of the day he'd disowned her for going AWOL from the Imperial Academy in the most dramatic way possible with Sabine. In punishment for bringing dishonour to the clan name, he'd beat her bloody and to the point where she could barely walk, and told her if he ever saw her again, he'd kill her. Ketsu believed him.

_I really, really hope he isn't here._

Just as she was about to give up on finding Sabine in the main area, Ketsu's hopes of avoided her sire for the rest of her life were dashed to smithereens. Not only was her father here, he had just sat down at one of the outer edge tables and was facing her way.

With only half a second to think, Ketsu improvised on the spot.

Turning and running was out of the question because that would draw his eyes to the movement. That left her with doing something that most people will look away from out of courtesy.

Ketsu spun and grabbed the arm of the first male warrior she saw and turned them so he was between her and Count Kean Onyo. She barely took the time to notice her scapegoat had startled looking but striking and familiar grey eyes and chocolate coloured skin before she grabbed the back of his head and pulled it down to hers as she plastered her mouth to his.

While she was kissing the poor (or not?) guy breathless, she was also blindly pulling him with her as she backed up until a tent was once again blocking her from the view of her father's table. Feeling safe again, Ketsu moved to pull away from her unwitting accomplice, but he had other ideas.

The man wrapped his arms around her and tugged her closer, taking over the kiss and stealing her breath in return. Ketsu's heart and stomach fluttered as pleasure zinged through her and she hummed in pleased surprise. _This is turning out quite well, all things considered. He’s really good at this. _

_And familiar. Why does this feel familiar? Like coming home?_

_Who cares. Figure it out later. More kissing is good. _

She wrapped her arms around the man's neck and pressed even closer to his hard frame, drawing out the suddenly mutual kiss even longer. She writhed not so subtly against him, feeling his impressive manhood harden against her stomach as their kiss turned downright hot, with tongues dueling madly and moans of passion sounding the air.

She was maybe two seconds away from jumping on him when someone passing by whistled loudly and called out, “Hey, Bullseye! Why don’t you strip and give us a real show!?”

Without looking at him, Ketsu pulled away from her new lover - well, close enough anyway. She had every intention of dragging the body attached to his talented mouth to somewhere private for a little more than just mouth kissing - and turned to see a group of clan Vizsla warriors leering at her, mugs of ale in hand. Swaying her hips as much as possible, she slinked over to the cocky looking one who stood out as the leader of the pack of young males and walked her fingers up his grey and blue chestplate teasingly. “Oh, you want a show, do you?”

He grinned and nodded, eyes undressing her already. “We’d love one, Bullseye. Especially if you have more art on you in more interesting places.”

She smirked back and patted his cheek softly. “Wouldn’t you like to know, adiik…” The late teens looking male inhaled sharply at the insult “…but I don’t perform for children who wouldn’t know how to treat a woman right even if they had an instruction manual and took a twelve week course.”

As his gang laughed uproariously at their leader’s expense, Ketsu spun away and basically strutted back to the man who’d just made her blood sing like no other. At least not since she’d left the…

_Holy shab!_

Ketsu froze only a few paces from the grinning male in front of her, who had his arms crossed over a chest that had definitely widened and filled out since she’d last leaned against it. He was also a good deal taller and his face had thinned and hardened a bit, emphasizing the handsome bone structure even more. But it was unmistakably Jett Hark, her first boyfriend that she’d once believed to be her cyar’ika until she’d had to leave him behind when she fled with Sabine from the Academy they had more than kinda blown up.

_Stars, he’s even hotter now than when he was at sixteen._

“Jett?” she breathed, walking up to him as if mesmerized, the still laughing boys behind her long forgotten.

“The one and only,” he smirked, moving his arms so that one could wrap around her waist and pull her back into his personal space, his hardon still like another weapon between them. “Who did you think you were kissing?” he asked curiously, free hand coming up to rub a thumb over her kiss-swollen lower lip.

“I don’t know,” she shook her head helplessly, overwhelmed at the knowledge that Jett was here. _Right here, holding me just like he used to! I was so sure I’d never see him again. _“Just some random warrior, I guess.” She gave him a sweet smile and rubbed her hands over his firm chest, learning his more mature form and loving it. “The stars were shining their fortune down on me when I grabbed you instead.”

Jett chuckled and leaned down, nuzzling his nose against hers. “There was no luck involved, babe. I was following you.”

“You were?”

“Yep. Walked out of a tent and saw you just in front of me. Your beautiful long hair was gone, replaced by that very badass haircut and intriguing bullseye, but I recognized your body and confident walk instantly.”

“You did?” Her heart skipped a beat or two at the admission.

“I did,” he husked, then feathered a sweet kiss over her mouth before grinning at her, white and even teeth flashing, and his gorgeous, thickly lashed eyes shining like silver credit chips. “And man, was I ever not surprised to discover that the infamous bounty hunter with a bullseye on the back of her head who lives by the motto, ‘always on target’, was my shebs kicking missing girlfriend." And then his expression sobered as he rested his forehead against hers and whispered, "I’ll always recognize you, my Kets’ika. I’ve waited a long time for you to come back. A very long time.”

Guilt swamped her as he kissed her again, long and deep, because she hadn’t waited for him, not by any stretch of the imagination. She’d thought him lost to her forever, so had consoled herself with meaningless one-nighters with way too many people over the last seven years or so.

She tore her mouth from his, unable to lose herself in the kiss like she wished she could. “I’m sorry!” she gasped. “If only I’d known you didn’t hate me like everyone else, I would have come and found you long ago. I’ve been so…” _Slutty, _was the word that came to mind. But she couldn’t make herself say it.

“It’s okay,” he whispered understandingly, cupping her cheek with his big hand. “My waiting was more of a wishing than anything, to be honest. I wasn't even sure you were alive. I tried to move on a few times too, but none of those relationships ever lasted because none of them were my soulmate.”

“None of them were you, either,” she whispered back, tears glistening in her amethyst eyes. 

A sad little smile quirked up one side of his mouth slightly. “Well, we have each other now. And you have another think coming if you believe I’m ever letting you go again.”

“I don’t want you to,” she breathed, wrapping her arms even tighter around his neck and clinging unashamedly as she buried her face in his broad shoulder.

“Good,” he rumbled, hugging her tight and rubbing a hand up and down her back in a way that should have been soothing, but instead sent electric currents of pleasure through her body.

“Shab, I missed you, Jett’ika. Miss how everything just feels so right with you,” she admitted softly. 

Jett somehow managed to hug her even closer, lifting her up onto her toes a bit, cheek on top of her shaved head. “Me too, Bullseye. Me too.”

She snorted once with laughter, positive that she’d never live down the new nickname and not even sure she wanted to. The way his deep voice caressed it, like the sweetest of love words, made her want to hear the previously annoying moniker indefinitely.

They held each other for at least a minute, the silence comfortable and comforting.

And then he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back a few fractions so they could see each other’s eyes again. The look in his narrowed ones made her think, _uh oh. _

“Sooooo, why WERE you kissing what you thought was a random guy?”

* * *

_Mando’a translations:_

_Adiik – A child between 3 & 13. _


	19. Make Out Perspectives

**Make Out Perspectives:**

Sabine had known for a few years now that being in Ezra's vicinity had a tendency to lift her spirits, but she hadn't realized quite how good he was for her until the last twenty-four hours. All she needed was a few seconds in his company, a squeeze from his strong and capable fingers where their hands intertwined, and that smile he was giving her that reminded her of a happy puppy, and her worries and guilt faded away like clouds after the rain. And, in what she was starting to realize was her new normal, touching him was doing funny things to her insides. She swore her heart was melting and skipping beats, her stomach had taken to doing flips, and her nerve endings had been electrified as she got lost in his twinkling blue eyes.

She didn’t know how long she’d been standing in the doorway, making eyes with Ezra, but her father’s loud and pointed clearing of his throat made it clear that time had dragged on into the embarrassing. At least she wasn’t the only one that jumped.

Without letting go of Ezra’s hand, Sabine turned and looked at her father, who had the biggest smirk ever twitching on his lips. “Yes?” she said just a hair more curtly than polite. His mouth somehow twitched a little higher. _At least he’s getting some enjoyment out of my new relationship as well, even if it is at my expense, _she thought with a mental eye roll.

“I’m going to talk to Bo about what we’re doing next. You two should be there as well, but if you need a few minutes to… confer…” Sabine felt her cheeks heat and heard Ezra groan under his breath when her father actually winked. “…then take them, but if I don’t see you at our table in ten minutes, I’m coming back for you,” he teased, with an undercurrent of dead-seriousness as he sidled past Ezra and started walking backwards.

“Dad!” she protested, blushing harder. Ezra was also changing colours, so at least she wasn’t alone in that either.

“What?” Alrich said innocently, still backing down the hallway. “I’m just helping you with your determination to not have any early mistakes.”

Her eyes widened and she sucked in a breath as she realized what he was talking about. Ezra just looked confused, _thank kriff. _“DAD!” she all but yelled, seriously tempted to throw her helmet at him. “What the hells?! I’m not a naïve twelve year old anymore, geez.”

“Really?” her father was seriously pushing it with the teasing. “Could have fooled me with all the lovesick sighing and goo-goo eyes I’ve observed lately.”

Sabine growled and actually did chuck her helmet at him. The sniggering nerfherder masquerading as her sire caught it and kept it, tucking it under his own arm, then turned and all but bolted down the corridor. _Whatever. He can have it… for now. _“We're both adults!” she called to his retreating back. “And we're not going to do anything you'd disapprove of anyway!" the last was yelled just as he disappeared behind the closing door to the cargo hold.

Sabine huffed, crossing her arms over her chestplate (pulling her hand from Ezra’s to do it), stuck somewhere between peeved and reluctantly amused. It jumped up to totally amused when she looked at her new boyfriend, who was some managing to look mortified, absolutely heart-broken, and entertained all at once.

* * *

"We're not?" Ezra said, only half in jest, hoping to tease her into doing whatever naughty things she could come up with for the next ten minutes. He pouted a little, making his lower lip tremble and his eyes go all wide and pleading, but sparking with mirth at the same time.

Watching Sabine and her father interact had been something else. He liked the man, really, but his sense of humour was almost outrageous. Alrich Wren was having way too much fun at Sabine’s expense and Ezra didn’t like to see her unhappy. So he figured it was his job to put her back in a good mood again.

And if that meant suffering - _Haha. Not! -_ through another blissful make out session… then at least no one could accuse him of not doing his duty.

His beaten puppy face worked – and had for as long as he could remember – since Sabine’s expression transformed from pissed to contemplative in about two seconds flat. 

She eyeballed him up and down in assessment, prompting Ezra to stand a little straighter and puff out his chest, trying to look as impressive as possible. “Hmmmm,” the minx teased, apparently inheriting her sense of humour from her father. “I might be persuaded to grant a peck to the cheek for a fine specimen such as yourself.”

He puffed up a little bigger with pride at being called fine. “I’ll take that. What do I need to do to earn such an honour from the galaxy's most beautiful and intelligent warrior goddess?”

Sabine laughed softly, putting one of her strong little hands on his chest. His heart thumped up to meet it. “A compliment like that is enough, methinks.” And then she kissed him on the cheek, as promised, promptly followed by a shove that had him stumbling back into the corner where hallway met cockpit wall.

Ezra’s back hit the corner hard and his breath exhaled on a whoosh! And then she was on him, basically climbing onto his waist and kissing him like she wanted to suck out what was left of the air in his lungs.

Ezra, being the self-sacrificing person that he was (sort of), let her, even encouraging her attentions by wrapping his arms around her waist and under her rear end to hold her even closer as he kissed her back.

When she finally succeeded in making him see fireworks behind his eyes, Sabine pulled back a bit. He panted in much needed air as she wrapped her arms more firmly around his neck and smirked at him. "There was never any question that we were going to do just this the second we were alone, you know that right?"

“Oh, I know,” Ezra smirked back as he shifted so his hands were cupping her perfect ass, all toned and round and just the right amount of flesh to overfill his hands, and then he used the leverage to rub his pelvis against hers.

Her breath caught. He grew even harder. Her eyes dilated. His heart pounded and even more blood evacuated the top half of his body.

“We are very, very bad,” she whispered, leaning forward again to kiss and nibble on his jaw.

“Most definitely,” he whispered back, nuzzling into the sweet spot behind her ear. “Your father would probably throw a pail of ice water on us or something if he saw.”

Sabine giggled, tickling lips still pressed to his skin as well. “Possibly.” And then she grasped his head to line their mouths back up again. She gently bit his bottom lip and then demanded entry into his mouth.

Ezra opened willingly and their tongues immediately got tangled together as they fought for dominance. He found himself kneading the supple flesh under his hands through her bodysuit, wishing that he could magically poof their layers of clothing into nothingness. _Now THAT would be a handy Force power to have._

Sabine pulled her lips away from his, her hands still holding the back of his head tightly, and stared very seriously into his eyes as the most random thing came out of her mouth. "You need to grow your hair out again," she said between shuddering gasps.

Ezra's brows rose in surprise. _I thought she said she liked my hair short. Made me look older or something. Females really are fickle and impossible to understand creatures, as Kanan once said in exasperation after that rather entertaining argument with Hera last year. Whatever. If she wants my hair longer, it can be longer._ "I can do that."

* * *

"Good," Sabine murmured. _Then I can use it to hold you still better. And it really was beautiful hair. Don’t know why I ever encouraged him to cut it off. _ All this was thought as she was attacking his lips once again. Because kissing was amazing. Kissing was better than blowing things up. Just barely, but it was, and she never thought she'd think that. Kissing Ezra as much as possible was her new goal in life.

Being pressed against his hard body was nothing to laugh at either. His kneading fingers on her ass were sending little thrills through her that settled right in her core. He held her effortlessly, too. And that was turning her on even more. She never knew he had so much strength in his still lean body that was just starting to fill out with mature manhood. She’d been under the impression that he used the Force to power his feats of strength, but maybe some of it had been just him. _Kriff, that was hot._

_Wish we could do this forever. Ignore the coming war. Just go home and hide in a bedroom for a week. _

_But we can’t. Vader’s coming. And I have to do the Countess thing. The Rebellion is still something to consider as well. _

_Oh, and Dad is going to show up with a bucket of ice water soon if we don’t appear outside, just because Ezra said it. _

_Thanks, Ezra._

* * *

_Force, oh, Force, she tastes so sweet; like fire and candy and yogans all in one._ He didn't know how that was possible, but he didn't care. Ezra just wanted to stay locked like this forever. But he had a mental chronometer ticking in his mind and he was allowing himself just one more minute of the heart pounding pleasure of holding her via squeezing her perfect round butt cheeks, and having her weight pressed against his chest, and delving into her mouth as they took turns chasing each other's tongues in a game of teasing kisses.

He didn't trust Alrich not to keep his teasing word and show up back in the ship. There was no way he was getting caught with his hands on Sabine's ass and his tongue in her mouth. _No way in hell._

When he was sure his time was up, Ezra very reluctantly straightened off the wall and put her back down, hands running up her back once her feet were safely on the decking again. He eased off the kisses to just two final presses of his lips to hers ever so softly and then propped his chin on top her head as he held her close in a hug and started talking his electrified body back into submission, beginning by concentrating on his breathing and slowing it down, and then adding his racing heartbeat to the equation. And then he added a little image of Darth Vader for the final touch.

_All those years of practicing meditation are coming in very handy indeed. Kanan was right when he said meditation is one of the most important things a Jedi can learn. _

* * *

Sabine didn't want to stop but she knew he was right; her mental clock had ticked down to the end too. _Now is not the time to get too carried away. But kriff, sometime soon, we ARE going to have a very long and very uninterrupted make out session. I vow it._

_How far we’re going to go during said make out session, I don’t know yet. There’s got to be some kind of fine line between rushing into things and waiting too long just because. _

_I guess I’ll just play it by ear. _

For the time being, she simply wrapped her arms around his narrow waist in return and breathed in his startlingly good scent. Under the hint of musky sweat (which surprisingly wasn't repulsive), he smelled like grass and fresh air. He smelled like her memories of his home planet before the Empire started burning it. "How do you smell like Lothal, when, as far as I know, you haven't been back for weeks or longer?" she murmured into his collar.

* * *

Ezra shrugged slightly, a chuckle escaping him at another completely random question that came out of the blue as far as he could tell. "I don't know. My home is in my blood, I guess."

She rubbed her cheek against his jacket, sighing softly at how comfortable she felt right now. "Well, I like it."

He smiled and kissed the top of her head, breathing her in in return. "For the record. I like how you smell too. Like citrus, and paint, and a hint of just fired blasters. You smell just like what you are."

Sabine looked up at him, dislodging his chin, a teasing smile playing on her pink and somewhat swollen lips. "Like a painted yogan exploded on me?"

Ezra snorted and rolled his eyes at her, a hand moving up to her hair and combing through the silky strands in tactile fascination as he sniffed her scent in with exaggerated pleasure. "Not at all. Like a warrior girl who also happens to be the best artist I've ever seen."

"As I’ve mentioned before, flattery will get you everywhere, Bridger," she said, stretching up and kissing the scars on his cheek.

Ezra beamed at her. "Awesome. I have a lot more where that came from."

She laughed and rolled her eyes at him as she stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest. "Please. Not if it's like your attempts at flirting four years ago."

He leaned a shoulder against the wall as he crossed his arms and ankles, adopting a negligent air. "My flirting was not that bad, but even if it was, I like to think I've gotten better at it."

Sabine raised a brow. "Oh? And who exactly have you been practicing on, Ezra Bridger?"

Ezra smirked at her. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Sabine narrowed her eyes at him, a niggle of jealousy winding its way into her. She punched him on the arm, not exactly lightly. "Tell me!"

Ezra laughed while wincing as he rubbed the sting out of his arm. (Something he’d done about a thousand times since he’d met her.) "Well... There were other girls on the base on Atollon, and you WERE gone for months." He couldn't help teasing her, just to see how wound up she'd get.

Apparently he liked pain, if she caused it, because he kept asking for her to hurt him with his own idiocy, so Sabine narrowed her eyes further and she pulled her arm back to punch him again.

Ezra caught her fist before she could let it fly, laughing harder. "Whoa! I was teasing! The only girl I've ever flirted with since I met you is you. Believe me. Any and all practicing has been in my mind and dreams only, promise."

The warrior girl huffed, relaxing. But she let fly with her left fist, just because. "Don't joke about stuff like that," she said as he winced again and rubbed his other arm. She crossed her arms over her chest again and gave him a warning glare. "I think I might be a very jealous Mando, now that I've decided to claim you as mine. You do not want to anger a jealous Mando."

Being a wise Jedi male, he raised his hands in surrender, even as he still shook slightly with silent humour. "I see that. My mistake."

But then he reached forward and cupped her delicate face in his hands, leaning towards her, his eyes very serious all of a sudden. "I promise you'll never have anything to get jealous about from my side of things. You are the only girl I've seen for more than four years. No one will ever make me look elsewhere." He sealed his vow with a gentle kiss and then rested his forehead against hers as he gazed into her amber eyes. "And to add to the record, I have always been yours, so you don't need to claim me."

Sabine found herself cupping his face in return, eyes searching his and seeing only sincerity and truth. "Oh, I'm still claiming you, my sneaky lothrat. But, I think, somewhere in me, I've always known that, because I'm yours too.” She paused for a second and then added, “Do you know how many guys I've turned down over the last four years?"

Ezra shook his head slightly within her grasp, eyes wide with alarm. "Do I even want to know?"

Her mouth quirked up. "Probably not. I'll just say that none of them ever felt right. And now I know it was because none of them were you."

His heart turned to goo in his chest as she kissed him just as gently as he had her. It was probably safe to say he couldn’t get any more besotted with her, but his heart could always expand further, so who knew?

Smiling softly, Sabine pulled away, but laced the fingers of one hand with his, not willing to lose their connection entirely. She tugged on it and started walking towards the exit. "Come on, we better get out there and strategize like good little soldiers.”

Ezra fell into step beside her, their shoulders brushing. “About that… We need to talk.”


	20. Take What You Want (part 1)

**Take What You Want (part 1):**

As Alrich exited the Jai’galaar, he saw that there was a feast / celebration in full swing and growing by the minute as more and more ships landed. He wasn’t surprised that the word had spread like wildfire that THE place to party was the new Mand'alor's camp. Many would come just to get a glimpse of her in person.

He was quite impressed with the mix of people he saw as well. It had to be the biggest peaceful gathering of clans in the memory of even the oldest amongst those gathered (and he was pretty close to that from what he could see). As he strode towards the eating area, all around him warriors mingled with the more 'enlightened' citizens of what was left of the New Mandalorians Satine had worked so hard to create. Their spirits were high and everyone seemed to be getting along just fine, also for the first time in decades.

_And much of it is thanks to Bo and my daughter. _

Alrich found his cousin and Fenn Rau sitting all but on top of each other as they ate, their heads close together as they talked quietly. He bypassed them for a moment to pick up a plate of food and a mug of mead from the ever expanding buffet (as more people added to it with their arrival) and then joined them across the table, just listening to their conversation

As he was sitting down, putting his food on the rough plank table and his daughter’s colourful helmet on the bench beside him, Fenn was saying, "You know, I never thought I'd see this day," with a somewhat disbelieving shake of his ginger head. "You have performed what most would call a miracle."

Bo-Katan blushed slightly at the praise, glancing down at her half empty plate. "I can't take all the credit. If it weren't for Sabine and her determination to stir up chaos over the last few months, I doubt the rest of us would have been inspired to act as we have."

Fenn tilted his head in acknowledgement, chucking once. "As one who has taken part in most of her 'chaos', I have to admit you have a point. But I can guarantee it was you and not her who these people are here to celebrate with.” Alrich smiled to himself since he’d just had a similar thought.

Fenn’s gaze was full of fierce sincerity as he added, “You are the leader everyone wanted. We've just been waiting for you to realize it. I'm almost positive that everyone here would call you their Mand'alor even if you didn't have the Darksabre. It is only a symbol. YOU are the reality."

She met his glacier blue eyes as a hint of pink crossed her high cheekbones. “Thank you, Fenn. Your confirmation of something that I’d only hoped for means much to me.”

_They’re just as bad Sabine and her Jedi, I swear. Not that that’s a bad thing; Bo deserves some happiness after everything she’s endured. _

He was once again smirking like a tooka who’d just spotted an oblivious mouse when they finally took notice of their company.

The couple across from him reluctantly tore their eyes from each other and looked over at Alrich in curiosity. "What is so amusing?" the man who Alrich had taken an instant liking to last night asked. He was sure they were going to be good friends, and he owed him as well, for looking out for his family when he couldn't. (Not that Alrich was all that great at the warrior arts, but he wasn't completely helpless.)

Not wanting to offend them with the whole truth, Alrich nodded in the vague direction of the Jai’galaar. "The kids. They're so infatuated with each other you'd have to be dead to miss it."

“Ah.” Fenn and Bo nodded in understanding. "I have observed this myself," Fenn said with a small twitch of his mouth upwards. "Long before Sabine knew it, actually. Ezra, on the other hand, has always known what he wanted."

"Much like yourself?" Alrich said in a teasing tone with a flick of his eyes towards the new Mand'alor.

His smirk returned as Fenn blushed nearly as badly as the kids had. 

“Perhaps,” Fenn muttered, embarrassed as he glanced at Bo and then looked down at the table helplessly.

Bo raised a flame coloured eyebrow, her jade green eyes sparkling with mischief. “Only perhaps?”

Fenn glanced up at the female warrior again, his whole face turning rather red now. Alrich was very amused. “It can be more if you want it to be.”

Bo tilted her head slightly, contemplating the poor, flustered male beside her. “I’ve always thought that I would want a mate who knew his own mind and wasn’t afraid to fight for what he wanted. I have not changed my mind on the subject.”

Fenn’s eyes widened and then narrowed with determination at her not so subtle warning. “In that case…” he growled nearly under his breath before he grabbed the new Mand’alor around her waist and tossed her over his blue armoured shoulder before effortlessly rising to his feet with his arm holding her steady behind her thighs, making her squeak in surprise and Alrich’s eyebrows shoot up nearly to his hairline.

Most of the people around them turned at the sudden movement, nowhere near drunk enough yet to lose their highly tuned reflexes.

“What are you doing?” Bo demanded from her upside down position as Fenn started striding towards the tents.

More than a few blasters were drawn as people prepared to come to the defence of their new leader.

Fenn patted her upraised rear end firmly as he said, “Taking what I want.”

She wrapped her arms around Fenn’s torso in a clear sign of approval. “Oh. In that case, you have my permission to proceed.”

The assembled warriors relaxed their defensive stances and laughed heartily, someone even daring to yell, “You show her what a real warrior is, Rau!” inspiring even more laughter.

His cousin’s eyes met Alrich’s as he turned on his bench to follow their progress around the tables. She looked very satisfied with herself, no question. _Good for you, Bo, _he thought with a wide grin, amused by how she’d manipulated Fenn into making a move. Bo grinned back and then snuggled her cheek against Fenn’s back armour. Fenn hadn’t taken his hand off her arse yet, either.

Alrich laughed softly to himself as he turned back around to his food. Spotting the lovebirds’ abandoned helmets, he reached across the table and put them down beside Sabine’s for safekeeping and then dug into his late lunch.

As he ate, old friends and cousins from various clans came to sit around him with warm smiles, murmurs of condolences at his loss, and jokes about Bo and Fenn, Alrich realized that he was all right with his new world. Not content, it might be a long time before he felt that emotion again without Ursa and Tristan, but all right. He still had Sabine and her Jedi mate, his brother, and an extended network of family and friends that spanned many clans.

Alrich still had much to live for.

_Including keeping an eye on the randy kids,_ he thought as he glanced in the direction of the ship, _and making sure they get something to eat, not to mention come out of there to talk strategy before we run out of time._

_If they're not out by the time I'm done my lunch, I may just have to go throw some ice water on them to get them apart. _

The prospect sounded like fun. 

* * *

Bo had hoped to inspire Fenn to kiss her or something with her taunting words, but this unexpected caveman-esque reaction was perhaps even better. While not fond of being carried over his shoulder like a sack of tubers, she did appreciate his easy show of strength and the sheer balls it took to pick up one’s Mand’alor in the midst of so many of her clan’s warriors who would automatically take offence on her behalf.

In fact, she was getting more than a little turned on with every step he took towards her tent that he unerringly made for.

The fact that he was now blatantly caressing her rear in a very appreciative fashion as he walked was also a factor.

They passed another couple who looked oblivious to the world as they made out up against the tent at the end of the row. She recognized the rare (in this camp, anyway) white bodysuit leggings on the male immediately and laughed softly at the same time Fenn did, his strong chest moving under her grasp.

“What’s funny?” they asked each other a moment later, making them both laugh again at their perfect synchronicity just before Fenn ducked into her tent, which was just large enough to stand up in and fit a small cot in comfortably with space beside to dress in. (Even as the Countess of her clan, she'd never felt the need to be ostentatious.)

She squirmed to get down, so he obligingly let her slide down his front. But he kept his arms around her back loosely; holding but not forcing her to stay. Bo wrapped her arms around his neck and stayed pressed up against him, their armoured chests as close as they could get. “You first.”

Fenn’s arms tightened approvingly as he jerked his head in the direction they’d just come from. “That girl, the kissing one with the shaved and tattooed head, that’s Sabine’s friend, Ketsu Onyo.”

She started running her fingers enticingly over the back of his head, her impatient hormones not caring if they were talking or not. “Onyo. I’ve heard of her. Met her once, too, I think, when Sabine was still in the Academy. Still dar’manda and worthless, if her father is to be believed.”

Fenn snorted. “I wouldn’t call her worthless. Very capable fighter and pilot. Better than good, in fact. But she’s a bit of a firecracker and is always up for a good time, as far as I could tell. Even shot me an inviting look once or twice. I’m not surprised she found a male to have fun with already.”

Bo’s fingers tightened on his neck as a brief rush of jealousy surged through her bloodstream. “I hope you didn’t take her up on her offer.” _Not that I could honestly blame him if he had. He is a prime male with needs, after all,_

Fenn shook his head, grinning, pulling his gloves off behind her back and tossing them aside. “Nah. Not my type. I like a female with hair. Especially beautiful, fire infused hair.” He paused to demonstrate this by burying his now bare hands in her chin length locks, eyes briefly fluttering with appreciation at the feel of cool silk on skin. “And too young, anyway. She’s only a year older than Sabine, I believe, and I’m older than Alrich.”

“Good.” She copied him by pulling off her gloves and then resumed running her hands over the soft, shaved fuzz at the back of his neck and up into the somewhat longer strands on top of his head as her eyes roamed over his ruggedly handsome features, lingering more than once on his nicely shaped lips.

“So what made you laugh?” Fenn asked a bit huskily after a prolonged silence that neither noticed, as one hand moved to cup her cheek and his head started to lower a fraction at a time.

Knowing she didn’t have long before words would no longer be possible, Bo simply said, “Hark. Onyo was making out with our turncoat Commando.”

“Ah,” he breathed against her mouth, his beautiful pale blue eyes looking like they contained flames of ice. “Maybe they deserve each other, then.”

“Maybe,” she breathed back. And then his mouth was touching hers with just the right amount of exploratory pressure, electricity arching through her body at the contact.

Bo hummed lightly and returned the kiss, increasingly the intensity as a feeling of rightness settled in her very soul like she’d never felt with any other male. (Which is why she was still unmarried at the age of forty-seven.)

The advantage to being a Mandalorian was that she didn’t have to worry about silly courting games even if she was technically royalty, unlike nearly every other royal culture in the galaxy. No one would have a fit if she married this man only a day after meeting him. And she was seriously considering doing so.

_But first, let’s see if our compatibility continues through the rest of the important bits. _

She pulled back after a few minutes, her lips throbbing from his heated kisses. “Shab, Fenn.”

“If my lady wishes,” he said, his eyes crinkling with humour.

That wasn’t what she meant, but what the hell. She jumped up into his wonderfully strong arms that automatically caught her. “Let’s see if you can back up your caveman move with a few more.”

He laughed and dumped them on the cot, straddling her legs on his knees as he started pulling off her armour pieces with efficient speed. He shot her an impish look just before saying in a deep tone, “Fenn make pretty red lady naked. Then Fenn make red lady scream in record time.”

Bo giggled, feeling like a teenager all of a sudden. “Ooooo. Bo like Fenn’s ideas,” she said in a matching deep voice as she sat up and starting on his armour too. “Bo help.”

They looked at each other and had to stop undressing for a minute as laughter overtook them, just hanging on to each other as tears leaked from their eyes.

“Stars,” she gasped after a short while, trying for a proper lungful of air as she smiled at him.

It didn’t work, because he stole her breath again by sealing their mouths together with a suddenly groaned out, “Bo.”


	21. Never Too Far Apart (part 2)

**A/N: I wrote a scene similar to this for the original version of ‘Kriff That’ that got lost somewhere when I reposted that version focusing more on just Sabezra. Not to be dissuaded from the loss, I’ve written version 2.0, which I think has turned out decidedly hotter than the original, so be warned; this chapter is all steam from start to finish. :P (Seriously, don’t read this unless you LIKE smut.)**

* * *

**Never Too Far Apart (part 2):**

“I won’t say no to that,” Kanan drawled as he slid a fraction lower in his chair and Chopper rocked on his struts in protest but wisely kept his undoubtedly foul beeps to himself.

“I didn’t think you would, love,” Hera’s rich alto voice said with blatant hints of underlying amusement via the astromech’s encrypted comm system.

Already more than half aroused by the imagery of pleasuring his soulmate through their Force bond, it was a relief to Kanan’s constricted manhood to be released from its confines as he undid the zipper on his trousers in anticipation. “All right, I’m ready.”

“I see that,” Hera drawled. “Impressive, as usual.”

Kanan flushed slightly with stupid pride even as he fisted himself almost helplessly. “Thank you, darling. Now, what would you do to me if you were here?”

“Hmmmm. I think I would tease you first. Make you wait for the main event as long as you could stand.”

“Of course you would,” Kanan chuckled. “All right. Torture me then,” he said in feigned resignation as he automatically closed his eyes, leaned his head back, dimmed down his connection to the Force to almost nothing so his other senses wouldn’t interfere with the velvet tones of his love, and settled even lower on the chair, his hand moving slowly up and down his happy-to-no-longer-be-neglected erection.

“Force, you look so kriffing sexy like that,” Hera breathed. “Just looking at your image is getting me all worked up again.”

He smirked in more very un-Jedi-like male pride. “Feel free to touch yourself too. You know the thought of it will only turn me on more.”

“Oh, I know. And I already am.”

“Kriff,” he swallowed hard. “Tell me.”

“Mmmmm. I’m running a finger up and down my lek and my other hand is between my legs. I’m so wet for you.”

Kanan went from pleasantly aroused to harder than durasteel in an instant. “Frag, Hera.”

“Not yet,” she laughed softly. “First, I’m going to imagine myself undoing your hair and running my fingers through it, stroking your scalp ever so lightly with my nails. And then I’m going to press little kisses across your handsome cheekbones and over the cute bump on your nose.”

Since she’d done this to him many times in the past, it was easy for Kanan to recall the shivery sensations that should accompany her words. “Hmmmmm. A good start.”

“I thought so. Next, I’m going to kiss you very thoroughly as I hold you still with your wonderfully soft hair.”

“No argument from me on that one,” he smiled.

He heard the answering smile in her voice when she said, “You never do. Promise you’ll never cut your hair unless there’s a really, really good reason.”

“I promise,” he said solemnly, then couldn’t help teasing her by saying, “I know you have hair envy,”

“I do not!” Two seconds later… “Okay, maybe a little.”

“Knew it!”

“But you wish you had lekku sometimes, too, admit it.”

“Aside from the sensitivity factor, It would be nice to twine our lekku together when I’m loving you. I know that would make it perfect for you.”

Hera gasped slightly and then her tone was soft as she said, “Stars, Kanan. Wherever did you hear that?”

“Nowhere. I just assumed it was a Twi’lek and Togruta thing ‘cause that’s what I would do.”

“You’re instincts are right. But you’re also wrong. You don’t need lekku to make what we do together any more perfect.”

Relieved, since he’d always worried that he was slightly lacking for her as a mere Human, Kanan grinned. “Oh. Well then, I’ll just have to make sure I don’t slack off any.”

She laughed softly. “Kanan, all you have to do is lie there in a hologram and I’m turned on, I don’t think you’re in any danger of slacking off.”

“Good. Now get back to teasing me if you don’t mind. I don’t think I can get away with hiding in the Gauntlet’s cockpit forever.”

“Is that where you are?”

“Yep.”

“Then we can add that to our list of illicit places where we’ve gotten frisky.”

“Hmmmm. I don’t think it counts unless we’re both in the same space.”

“Technicalities,” she said dismissively. “Now, where was I? Oh yes, it was time to nibble on one of your ears.”

“Must you?” he whined with little heat to it. (She knew that his ears were too ticklish to like being teased, but the act always somehow made him harder than a rock anyway.) “Couldn’t we move on to my chest or something? Or lower. Lower would be good.”

“Nope,” she said, giggling. “I must first drive you insane via your ear, and then I’m going to suck and kiss my way down your neck, leaving a bruise or two that you won’t be able to cover up, claiming you as mine.”

“Ooooo, I like the sound of that. You can claim me as much as you want. I only wish you’d been more open to public claiming for the first decade or so of our relationship. It got really old having to endure watching so many males drool over you who thought you were fair game.”

“Sorry about that.” She sounded anything but. Which he wasn’t surprised at, considering she had always enjoyed watching him get frazzled by suppressed jealousy. _The minx. _“But you have nothing to complain about now. Especially since I’m now running my hands down your chest and then back up under your shirt while I put a spectacular hickey on your neck.”

Kanan sucked in a breath at just the thought of her warm, clever little hands on his skin and her mouth doing insane things to his nerve endings.

“I’m going to run my fingers over every one of your sexy muscles and then I’m going to tease your silly Human male nipples that at least are useful in regards to making you whine my name.”

“Hera!” he did just that, his body going haywire just from his imagination and her husky, sexy, hot-as-hells voice.

“Hmmm. It works even from all the way over here,” she laughed.

“So it would seem,” he grumbled good-naturedly.

“You’ll be happy to hear that I’m not in much better shape,” she admitted. “My nipples feel like they’ve been electrocuted, my lekku are tingling like mad, and my core is aching for something decidedly larger than my fingers.”

“Oh Force,” he groaned, hand moving in earnest now on the shaft that really wanted to replace her fingers. “You’re killing me, Hera.”

“That’s the idea, love,” she said, sounding quite proud of herself. “Now, I think it’s time that I took off your shirt so that I can kiss and nibble my way down your chest, yes?”

“Kriff, yes!” He loved having her mouth on his skin, no matter where she put it, but his chest was definitely second only to one other location that didn’t take a genius to figure out.

And her imaginary lips were on the way to said favourite location.

“So impatient,” she teased. “Maybe I should take my time exploring your shoulders and arms first. There are some rather nice muscles in there that don’t get nearly enough attention, I’m sure.”

“No! My arms are fine without any kisses, thank you. Please, Hera, please move your imaginary kisses downwards.”

“All right,” she conceded laughingly. “But only if you take off your shirt for real. I want to see what I’m pretending to torture so sweetly.”

In a flurry of movement, Kanan had his green shirt and white undershirt off in about three seconds flat, and flung to frag-cares-where. Then his hand was back on his enthusiastic cock and he was mentally girding himself to endure whatever sentence of verbal torment she deemed fit to give him.

“Wow, love. Bonus points for speed. I’m amazed you didn’t rip you hair out in the process,” Hera said laughingly.

Kanan automatically reached up with his free hand to find his ponytail still mostly intact, with only a few strands misplaced and hanging down by his temples. He smoothed them back and shrugged with a grin. “Jedi reflexes, baby. Gotta love em.”

“Oh, I do. Trust me. I do.”

She paused for a moment and then when she spoke again, her voice had returned to its huskier bedroom tone that made him feel both like a possessive Neanderthal and turned him into lovestruck sap that would do absolutely anything she wanted. _Including get frisky in front of a droid who is guaranteed going to blackmail me for this later until I actually do tear my hair out._

_Why didn’t I take the time to have Chopper encrypt a frequency on the Gauntlet’s communication system and then send the rusty menace to go bug Ezra or something?_

_I am such an idiot._

At least he had Hera’s words to temporarily help him forget his stupidity.

“Now, because you just earned yourself a bonus, I won’t linger too long on showing the proper amount of appreciation for the perfection that is your torso. I’ll only skim my lips over your sexy collarbones before I nibble my way around each of your yummy pectoral muscles. But I can’t skip past your fun little nubs, so your nipples are each going to get a thorough licking and then a nip or two.”

Kanan almost whimpered as sensory memory supplied the appropriate sensations for each of her words yet again. 

“Now that I have you squirming,” (and she did) “I’ll move down even further and trace the outline of each of your droolworthy abs with my tongue, pausing only to dip it into your adorable belly button, and then trace them all again and again until you beg me to stop.”

“Force, Hera, this is me begging,” he said, desperation making his voice hoarse as he let go of his erection and just gripped the chair. (It really didn’t need any more stimulation right now or he was going to explode too early.) “PLEASE move on! My sabre is weeping for the relief of your hot mouth.”

She chuckled wickedly. “It certainly looks it could cut through durasteel.”

He snorted, not needing his sight to know that his cock was doing a fair impersonation of a red lightsabre as it thrust out boldly through the opening in his trousers. “Well… Punch through, maybe.”

“That too. Now, since you’ve been such a good boy, I’ll move down, kissing one side of the V that points to your rampaging manhood, pretending you aren’t wearing your belt, holster, weapons, trousers, or underwear.”

“I’m good with that,” he all but squeaked out, his imagination just as good as hers.

“With full access to you, I’ll comb my fingers through your intriguing little curls with one hand as I grasp the base of you with the other, holding you steady as I lick a meandering path around your secondary lightsabre from bottom to top and back again and then further down to your surprisingly heavy sac that must have days worth of sweet cream built up for me.”

“You have no idea,” he mumbled, moving his hands to touch himself the way he imagined she said she was.

“Ahhh! Stop!”

“What?”

“Don’t touch! I want to see. And… I like the idea of you getting off on my voice alone. You’ve always said you could do it, now I want you to prove it.”

“Oh, kark.” He clenched his hands into fists for a moment and then grabbed the chair again. “All right.”

“I promise to make this up to you when I see you for real again.”

“I already said all right.”

“I know. Just letting you know you have something else to look forward to. Maybe I’ll let you tie me up again.”

“Oh, please! You know I love being able to touch you all over for as long as I want.”

“I know.” She sounded awfully smug about it and he didn’t care one iota.

“Now, where was I?”

_As if she doesn’t know._

“Ah, yes. I was licking your overfull balls. Maybe I’ll nibble on them ever so carefully before I travel even further down for a moment or two.”

He felt his cock jump a bit at the idea. “Yesssss.”

“I thought so.” The smug tone was back and he still didn’t care. “Or maybe I’ll stimulate your perineum and anal star with a teasing finger as I kiss my way back up to the head of your throbbing lightsabre and give it some relief with the depths of my mouth and throat.”

He groaned his agreement, words starting to feel completely unnecessary.

“And since you’re being so good, your hands can hold my lekku and guide me to take you as deep and fast as you want.”

_Shit. Shit. Shit! There’s no way I can concentrate enough to use the Force to make her feel my hands on her lekku! _And he told her so, after he sucked in some air. (And without the swears.)

“That’s okay, love. Our imagination is good enough. Besides, I’m holding my own lekku right now.”

“Okay.” It came out kind of strangled, but he was sure she got the idea.

“So? How do you want it?”

“You know me, you tell me.” (It was honestly just an excuse to hear her talk dirty some more.)

She laughed softly, knowing exactly why he’d just said that. “All right. You’ll start off by staying fairly shallow in my mouth while I suck on you and tongue your little slit and taste your pre-cum. I’ll even moan my appreciation at appropriate intervals until you can’t take it anymore.”

“Kriff. I’m already there,” he groaned out, fists clenched on the chair in a death grip so he didn’t mess up and grab himself.

“Of course you are, love. So then you’ll pull on my lekku just hard enough to almost hurt and I’ll let you slide into throat, down and down and even further down until my nose is pressed to your springy curls. And we’ll hold it there for a few moments while you grunt your approval – just like that – and then I’ll back off so I can suck in air. Then we’ll do it again and again, faster and faster until you’re like a machine in my mouth and I can’t breathe. But it feels so good to pleasure you that I don’t care.”

Kanan was flat out panting now and seeing something that might be exploding stars in his mind.

“And just before the lack of air becomes too much, you’ll stop, like you always do, and pull out, stroking my lekku with grateful hands that feel so good. We look at each other for a blissed out moment, I, on my knees before you, as you decide where you want to come. Today, you want to be inside my channel, because you know how much I want you there. Know how much I want to feel your hot seed filling me. Know that just the feel of it will make me shudder around you.”

“Yessss. Perfect.”

“So I’ll climb on your lap and sink on your amazing cock that stretches me so perfectly. And your hands will move to my hips and butt and help me ride you in a frenzy of need, the pressure building and building and building.”

It was. It really was. Kanan was going to orgasm without touching himself.

“I’ll lean forward and kiss you madly. And then I’ll whisper in your ear, “Come for me, Kanan Jarrus. Give me your child.”

“Frag!” he all but yelled as he exploded spectacularly, his seed shooting up into the air and landing on his abs and chest in hot splatters.

In the background of the white noise that temporarily filled his brain, Kanan heard Hera moaning and panting as she came too, supposedly on her own fingers.

For a whole minute, the only sound in the cockpit was their panting breaths. And then Kanan’s brain rebooted and he whispered, “Did you mean that? Are you finally ready to have a child with me? Even with the Rebellion escalating?”

She didn’t answer for a few endless seconds, but then his heart soared when she finally said, “Yes. I think I am. We could start trying, anyway. But you know the odds are extremely low.”

He knew. Oh, how he know. But it wasn’t impossible for a Human and Twi’lek to conceive together, and he was hoping for a little help from the Force, too. “I know. But I don’t care. Just the fact that you’re ready to move our relationship another step forward is enough for me. I love you more than anything, Hera.”

“I love you more than anything too, Kanan.”


	22. Reunited and Loving It (part 2)

**Reunited and Loving It (part 2):**

_Sooooo, why WERE you kissing what you thought was a random guy?_

The question hung between them awkwardly for a few seconds while Jett waited semi-patiently for Ketsu’s answer.

Not that whatever reason it might be would change how shabla ecstatic he was to have his former girlfriend back in his arms, but, as the abandoned boyfriend, he really wanted to know.

Ketsu sighed, guilt and fear flickering in her expressive purple eyes, which had him instantly on high alert because there was only one person Ketsu had ever been afraid of that he knew of.

Her next words confirmed it.

“I saw my father and kind of panicked. Kissing somebody was the first thing I could think of to make sure he wouldn’t look at me.” She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his shoulder. His arms closed around her in comfort as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “Goes to show you how much of a mess I am when kissing is the first thing that comes to mind,” she mumbled into his borrowed tunic.

Even though every protective instinct he had was screaming at him to go pound Count Onyo into the ground like he wished he’d been able to do so many years ago as a teenager, Jett also had just enough sense to deal with the current problem first.

A problem that also happened to bring all of his possessive instincts to the foreground along with the protective ones.

She’d admitted just barely enough hints in their brief conversation to give him the impression that she hadn’t exactly been chaste over the years, but that flash of guilt increased his gut feeling to something more along the lines of ‘easy’ to put it sort of delicately.

In some ways, he understood. She had always been an affectionate girl who craved love and praise from him to make up for the distinct lack thereof from her abusive father, so he could easily see that translating to her life without him as well.

But the fact that there was likely a string of men who had known her intimately made him want to get all of their names and shoot the applicable equipment off of every single one of them for touching her. Following that, he wanted to tie her up and shag her until she was a quivering mess and everyone else was completely erased from her memory.

_At least I was her first. And if I have anything to say about it, I’m also going to be her last. A pitiful consolation, but it's all I've got. _

Jett sighed mentally and kissed the top of her head. “You’re not a mess, cyar’ika. Just lonely. There’s a difference.”

Ketsu looked up at him, wonder making her eyes shine like dew-kissed flowers. “How do you do that? How do you always know me like that? And after all this time apart?”

Ridiculously proud of himself, Jett grinned and hugged her up higher against his chest so they were closer to eye level again. “The benefits of a psych course, having three older sisters who didn’t know the meaning of ‘young ears’, and being your soulmate; you’re like an open book to me and always have been.” He finished off with a quick and cheeky kiss to her lips.

She snorted, pushing out of his arms and crossing hers over her chest. “Sentimental dork. Don’t get too mushy on me too fast, babe. You gotta leave a girl some illusion of having secrets.”

Jett just grinned wider and snagged her around the waist to draw her back into his space, knowing that she was only teasing him and wouldn’t punch him for being handsy. (He had years of touching to make up for, after all.) “I can do that. I won’t even ask you what colour your underwear is today like I used to.”

Ketsu blinked twice and then burst into beautiful laughter which filled the holes in heart even more than her kisses had; he’d only ever wanted to make her happy. She was still chortling when she rose on her toes and kissed him sweetly before pulling back a fraction and staring into his eyes almost seriously. “Shab, I missed you. I was a di’kut to stay away.”

He returned her sweet kiss with interest before saying, “I know you had your reasons, Ketsu. Honestly, I’m kind of shocked to see you here. It’s not safe. If your father had seen you…”

“I know,” she whispered, fiddling with the collar of the black tunic. “I’m still dar’manda to him. To everyone.”

He frowned down at her, upset by the defeat in her tone. “Not to me."

"Really?"

"Really," he said firmly. "And not to Sabine Wren, I'm sure. I heard your father went on quite a rant after you and Wren blew up about a third of the Academy. Personally, I thought it was great, but couldn’t really say anything at the time. I think your status should be returned, especially with how things are now. I know Sabine's has, so yours should be too." He inhaled deeply, knowing she wasn't going to like what he was about to say. "And that means confronting your father, so I’m going to talk to him.” _Or beat some sense into him. _

“No!” she shook her head frantically, clinging to the cloth of his tunic as he tried to move to do just that. “Don’t. Please. He’ll hurt you!”

Jett scoffed as he gently removed her hand from the borrowed item and then laced their fingers together soothingly. “Not likely. You’re looking at one of the best Super Commandoes to graduate from the Academy, and with my brutal clan Saxon training as a foundation, your aging father would have to be stupid to take me on.”

Ketsu blinked. Blinked again. Her jaw dropped slightly. And then she squealed and hugged him hard. “You made the cut?”

“I told you I would,” he said smugly, relishing her shapely and lithe body pressed up against his once more.

“Yes, but, EVERYONE dreamed of making the Commando squad! They only take the top one percent! And only a third of those make it to the end of the training course.”

“I know.” He tried not to puff up too much at the pride in him she was radiating, but he was probably failing. “And thanks to some really bad decisions by both of the asshat Saxons, I’m now Captain of the squad.”

“Wow, Jett. Just… Wow.” Ketsu’s eyes grew heated and heavy lidded as she slid her hips against him sensuously. “I’m feeling really hot all of a sudden,” she whispered huskily, practically right in his ear.

Jett sucked in a breath and nearly choked on it as his body all but leapt back to life. “Uhhhhhh.”

“You wanna go see my ship? She’s really pretty, with a nice big bunk and everything.” She trailed a finger down the center of his chest, finger rising and falling with the hills and valleys of his hard-earned muscles. His blood followed. And so did his brain. She hesitated just above the waistband of his leggings for a heart-stopping moment and then that finger went back up. When she reached his mouth, she stopped again, caressing his bottom lip. “Soooo? Wanna check out my underwear and get sweaty?”

Jett gulped as it felt like he was drowning in the siren call of his cyar’ika. He’d built up a vague resistance to her song when he was a teenager, but after so long apart, after so many years of taking care of things mostly solo, he had almost zero resistance to her.

Almost.

But there was something he needed to do first. Something that had been bugging him ever since the first time she returned to the Academy with more bruises than warrior training justified. A driving need to take care of this girl usurped his base desires and said that her father needed to pay for the abuse he’d subjected her to. Pay for making her feel unwanted. Pay for depriving him of his cyar’ika for so long.

_For if she’d never been declared dar’manda, she _ _never _ _would have taken comfort in other mens’ arms. She _ _never_ _ would have left Mandalore._

_She would have never left me._

So Jett corralled his whimpering libido and shook his head. “Not yet, ner kar’ta.”

“Why?” 

Feeling like a wretch for the hurt and confusion in her eyes, he kissed his way over her fine cheekbones. “Because I’m stubborn and I want to restore your status first so you can walk through this camp with confidence.”

He mentally sighed in relief when her expression softened. “Yes, you are stubborn, Jett'ika. The most stubborn male I've met. And that's why I love you." She kissed his stubbling jaw softly. "If you must do this, then I won’t stop you.”

“I must.”

Ketsu sighed, fingers caressing his nape almost absently as her gaze fell to the open collar of his tunic. “You’re a good man, Jett Hark, and I don’t deserve you.”

He raised her chin with the side of a finger and caught her guilty gaze again. _Shab, not that again. _“Yes, you do. I don’t care what you’ve done in the past; you will always be my cyar’ika and I will always love you. It’s how we go forward together that matters.”

She gave him that melty look again that made his heart pound with pride. “Stars, Jett. Now I really think that I don’t deserve you, but I’m never letting you go again!” she whispered vehemently as her hands clenched almost painfully on the back of his head.

“Good,” he had time to say just before she tugged his head down to hers and sealed their mouths together.

He didn’t come up for air until he absolutely had to, making sure she was thoroughly dazed and leaning on him almost drunkenly first. And then he gave her his best smile and said, “Now let’s go teach a lesson to the pain in the shebs who sired you, beat you, and then threw you away.”

Her expression hardened almost instantly and sudden tension radiated from her previously limp body as her fists clenched at her sides. _Now she looks like the badass bounty hunter I know she is. _

“Let’s,” she growled in a completely new tone that would scare little children if they were around and then strode for the eating area with determination in every long step.

He fell just a little harder for her.

(And then had to sprint to catch up because he stood frozen like a mesmerized mooka for too many seconds just watching her fan-fragging-tasticly perfect hips sway.)


	23. Mando Versus Jedi

**Mando Versus Jedi:**

Sabine paused just before the door to the cargo hold. "We'll, that sounds ominous. What do we need to talk about?”

“Nothing terrible,” Ezra was quick to elaborate, squeezing their interlocked fingers in reassurance. “Or, okay, maybe a little terrible. It’s about Vader.”

Sabine grimaced comically as she triggered the door to open, tugging her new boyfriend through with her. “Oh, him. You know Bo-Katan and I already talked about that.”

Ezra flushed. “Right. Eavesdropping and you knew it. Ummmm, so Kanan and I talked…”

“I already guessed you and Kanan probably won’t want to stay here if Vader’s coming,” she said quickly when he seemed to get stuck. “And I won’t think less of you if you two leave.”

Ezra tugged on her hand to stop her from descending the ramp. “Here’s the thing…” he started as he indicated that they should sit on the ramp.

“Uh oh,” Sabine said as she sat beside him, copying his pose of drawn up knees with arms wrapped around them. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“Probably not.” Ezra tucked his chin onto his folded knees and stared off into the distance, afraid to meet her eyes. “Kanan and I both agree that staying here is a bad idea since neither of us are confident that we can beat him and we’ll just be drawing death and destruction to whoever is around us.”

Sabine sighed softly, her cheek resting on her knees as she watched his face. “I wish I could say that you two could totally beat that sleemo, but I remember what happened the last time I saw you fight him on Lothal and I never want to see or imagine anything like that again. I almost lost you then. I don’t want to lose you now. I… I don’t think I could take it.”

Ezra turned his head to look at her, her despair at even the thought of his demise drawing him to be brave. “And that’s the main reason why I’m not staying to help Mandalore fight their war, no matter how much it rubs me the wrong way to walk away from something that I helped start. The thing is… I won’t leave you, so that means I’m asking you to come with me.”

Sabine stared at his imploring and remorse filled eyes for a few tense seconds and then sighed softly. “Ezra… You know what you’re asking of me goes against everything that I am, don’t you?” 

He dropped his forehead down to his knees and talked to his lap, which muffled his voice as he said, “I know. Kriff, do I know.” He sucked in a breath and looked at her again. “You’re my warrior goddess; fighting is what you do. What you were born and bred to do. But this is one war that we either both fight and maybe - probably - die in, or we both run from it. It’s your choice.”

She inhaled slowly and deeply. “That’s one hell of a choice you’re forcing me to make, Ezra Bridger.”

Ezra winced and his heavy gaze fell to his knees again. “I’m sorry.”

Years ago, there might have been a time when the choice for them both to stay and fight would have been an automatic one for her. But even before the revelation of her real feelings for Ezra, she knew what her answer would be, because senselessly risking his life for her own pride was something she wouldn’t have been able to live with once he had become her family.

Her Mando self probably would have said they should fight anyway; that there was honour in falling in combat. But Kanan and Hera had shown her a different way of thinking; that family was more important than pride or revenge or even winning.

Generally, she liked who she was becoming, but sometimes, like situations like this where she had to choose between the honour-bound act of helping her people or preserving the life expectancy of her cyar’ika, she had to grumble just a bit.

_Shab. At this rate, I’ll be more Jedi than Mando by the time I hit thirty. My ancestors are probably rolling in their graves._

Amused and resigned by her thoughts, Sabine nevertheless reached over and covered one of Ezra's hands with her own. "All right, Ez, we'll both go. I won't make you stay here if that doesn't feel right to you." 

Ezra lit up and the next thing she knew she was being all but smothered by a Jedi doing his best impersonation of a puppy as he pushed her down on the ramp and covered her face in kisses. _At least he's not slobbery, _she thought with a giggle and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you," Ezra all but blubbered as he worshipped her precious features. "You're the best girlfriend ever." 

Catching his contagious enthusiasm, she grabbed the sides of his face to still him and planted a smacking kiss on his mouth. Then she grinned up at him and said, "Just remember you said that the next time I'm yelling at you for doing something brave but really stupid."

"Like yesterday?"

"Like yesterday."

Ezra shrugged bashfully. "I'll try to be faster next time I'm rescuing your father from a transport about to go off a cliff."

"You do that." Sabine pushed him off of her. "Now get up so we can get something to eat and break the news that we're leaving to Bo-Katan."

As his suddenly empty feeling stomach rumbled in agreement, Ezra pulled her to her feet with him and they started down the ramp. "Where we go from here is up to you. Kanan is hoping to catch a ride back to Base One with Ketsu, so that leaves us free to go anywhere."

Sabine didn't have to think very long about this one either. "Home to Krownest. If I'm not fighting here, then I have a duty to my clan to provide the leadership they expect of me. Plus, there are a couple of things that shouldn't be put off any longer than necessary."

"Like?"

Sabine steered them around a group of loitering teenagers who she just knew looked like trouble. Especially the tall one in clan Vizsla armour who looked pissed off with life in general and had an extra glare reserved for Ezra, just because. _Someone was raised a Jedi hater. I know we all were, but... Yeesh, give it up already. _Because of the brief distraction, it took her a few more steps longer to answer than it should have. “Like honouring my fallen clan members, including my brother and mother.”

Ezra winced in sympathy even as he made a mental note to keep an eye on the blond guy who looked about his age and had a lot of dark emotions roiling off him. “Right. That’s definitely important.”

“And I have to officially win my place as Countess.”

“Is that going to entail anything dangerous?” Ezra was afraid he already knew the answer.

Sabine gave him an incredulous raised eyebrow that was only partially in fun. “We’re Mandalorians. What do you think?”

“Dangerous times ten, then,” Ezra grumbled.

She grinned, bumping her shoulder into his arm. “Pretty much.”

“That’s what I get for falling for a Mando girl; always worried about you.” He was only half joking.

And she knew it. As they entered the crowded dining area, she laced her fingers through his. “That goes both ways, you know. Some of your Jedi stunts aren’t exactly an afternoon stroll through a meadow.”

“True.” As they wound their way to the table near the buffet that her father was seated at, Ezra wiggled his eyebrows at her. “But you have to admit that my stunts are impressive, right?”

Her fine dark purple eyebrows went up for a moment. _Impressive is an understatement. But does he really need to know that?”_

_Nah. _

Deciding to mess with him a bit, she shrugged. “Sure. I guess.”

“You guess?” he practically squeaked, because he could sense that she was teasing and decided to play along. “You GUESS?!” Ezra sniffed and looked away, pulling his hand from hers as he stopped and crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine. If my tricks aren’t enough to impress the almighty Warrior Goddess, than I shall simply have to give up the Force and become an artist or something to catch her attention.”

Sabine snorted and shoved him nearly off his feet. “Dork. You know you can’t paint worth a damn.”

Ezra caught his balance after a few hopping steps and grinned at her. “I know. But there’s still money to be made for art that looks like the drunken stylings of a lothmonkey, right?”

She laughed outright. “Apparently, if some of the garbage that passes as art is anything to go by.”

“See. Then I’m all set. I’ll take up painting and my Mando girl will finally be impressed enough to admit that I’m worth drooling over.”

“Oh, is that where you were going with this? Trying to fish compliments from me?” Sabine rolled her eyes affectionately. “Fine. Your Force stunts make me hot. Happy now?”

Ezra laced their fingers together again and started them moving forward again. “Ecstatic.” He beamed at her. “And for the record, all you have to do is breathe to make me hot, so it’s pretty safe to say that your acrobatics and fighting skills are enough to turn me into a supernova.”

Suddenly feeling a little hot herself, Sabine glanced up at him through heavy eyelids. “Hmmmm. I’ll have to remember that. Maybe we could spar later.”

He gulped and squeaked out for real this time, “Sure.”

“Good. I’m looking forward to knocking you down to the floor repeatedly.” A truly wicked smile crossed her lips as another thought popped into her head. “We might even play the strip match version where the loser has to take off something every time they get knocked off their feet.”

“Oh boy.” Ezra suddenly had a lot more incentive to actually win their sparring rounds.

Quite satisfied with how she’d disconcerted her Jedi, Sabine walked the last few steps to her father’s table and sat across from him in a space that had just been vacated by a Kryze warrior, leaving Ezra to hover behind her as he worked on trying to banish the inappropriate-for-their-current-company images her teasing had inspired.

“See, Father,” Sabine said smugly. “You didn’t have to come get us.”

Alrich gestured at his nearly empty plate with his fork. “Ah, but it was a close thing. Only two bites left.”

“Then our timing was perfect, right Ez?” she said, turning and looking up at him and finding him still a little more flushed than normal. _Shab, being the girlfriend is even more fun than being the best friend. _She grinned at him.

Ezra nodded. “Right. I’ll just go get us some food, kay?”

“Sounds goo…,” Her voice trailed off as Sabine saw Ketsu approaching the eating area with her ass-kicking expression on and with a vaguely familiar looking male trotting to catch up to her. Drawing an imaginary line along her friend’s path, Sabine’s eyes widened as she saw who Ketsu was aiming for. “Kriff. Ezra, skip that. Go find Bo-Katan instead. Quickly.”

Alrich spun around on his bench and saw what Sabine did. He cursed at the impending disaster. “Shab. Bo’s probably in her tent with Fenn,” he supplied helpfully. _And hopefully not too far into the 'getting acquainted' process yet, either. Or she's going to be a mighty pissed off Mand'alor. _

Not understanding what was going on, but sensing the rising tension in the air and Sabine's low-level fear, Ezra nodded and took off at an agile sprint that only he could manage through the thick crowds.

Sabine surged to her feet and rushed as fast as she could in the direction of her suicidal friend to lend whatever support she could for a situation that was guaranteed to be ugly or uglier, double checking that her blasters were set to stun and still had some charge in them on the way. 


	24. Never Too Far Apart (part 3)

**A/N: For those of you who don’t subscribe to this story but just check in on it whenever you feel like it (and based on the number of views, there are a LOT of you) I ended up with more Kanera content than originally planned, so I’ve moved part I and part 2 of their arc up to earlier chapters to space it out better. Part 2 was posted last week and is the second most recent chapter even though it is now a few chapters back, so look for it if you want to read something extra steamy. :D**

**A/N 2: A bit of a rehash here, but I thought Hera’s perspective on what happened at the end of their last chapter was important. **

* * *

**Never Too Far Apart (part 3):**

_Yavin IV..._

Hera lay sprawled across her bunk, panting, trembling, and sweat soaked. On her heaving chest, the holodisk with the image of Kanan showed that he wasn’t in much better shape, but from experience, she knew that he didn’t tremble in the aftermath of climax. (Too manly for such a weakness to ever make itself known or something like that.)

_Give me your child…_

_Did I actually say that?_

_Where the kriff did that come from?_

Kanan must have thought the same thing, because the second he caught his breath he whispered, “Did you mean that? Are you finally ready to have a child with me? Even with the Rebellion escalating?”

Her breath caught again at the hint of hope in his voice that he tried so hard to hide, but she heard it. Maybe only because she knew him so well. They’d talked about children a few times over the years, and her belief had always been that she would happily have children with him (if they could, or adopt if they couldn’t) when the galaxy was no longer under the tyrannical rule of the Empire and peace had finally been won.

But now she’d blurted out this random thing that was loaded in so many ways and now she had to answer him.

But first, she had to answer herself.

_I don’t want a child yet… Do I? _

_We’re in the midst of a full scale rebellion that could turn into a flat out war at any time. But I’m not getting any younger. And we’ve been together for more than decade already. And there’s no guarantee that we’ll both survive to see actual peacetime. _

_So what the kriff am I waiting for? _

_To cry myself to sleep one day after Vader catches him and I realize that I’d missed my chance to create something special with my soulmate while I still had him?_

_Or to leave Kanan without a piece of me to hold when some lucky TIE finally blows my fighter to bits?_

_How bloody stupid is that?_

And so she sucked in a breath for courage as she sat up again, propping herself against the back wall. Then she cupped the holodisk in her palms as she drank in the miniature features of her handsome love, his expression calm and patient with that subtle undertone of hope in it that (again) most wouldn’t pick up on. _He wants this so much, doesn’t he? Just to be like normal people in love and make a family together. _“Yes. I think I am.” But she had to put a little voice of reason into it, just because that’s who she was. “We could start trying, anyway. But you know the odds are extremely low.”

Kanan’s shirtless image beamed at her anyway as he sat up a little taller in his chair. “I know. But I don’t care. Just the fact that you’re ready to move our relationship another step forward is enough for me. I love you more than anything, Hera.”

And now she was melting as a sense of the rightness of her decision filled her. _Stars, what did I do to deserve him? _“I love you more than anything too, Kanan.”

“Good,” he rumbled, still grinning wider than a tooka as he rubbed at his chest absently. (His spend was no doubt starting to dry and thus starting to tickle, which she knew from experience.) “Although it seems that we could never be too far apart for our bond to work, I can’t wait to see you in person so that we can get started with the trying. When does your contraceptive shot expire, anyway?”

She giggled at his eagerness and then even louder as he blinked his sightless eyes in surprise at his hand as he realized that he’d just rubbed his seed into his skin. “You might want to hit a refresher when we’re done, love, and in eleven days.”

He cleared his throat and clenched his fist as a flush appeared on his cheekbones even with the blue overtone of the holo. “Ummmm, yeah. And… lothrats. But I guess that’s not that far away.” His expression lit up again like a little boy. “But there’s nothing stopping us from practicing till then, right?”

She laughed even louder. “Right.”

Contented silence reigned for a few seconds as she just looked at her happy mate, which was suddenly broken as her comm chimed another incoming call in a tone that indicated it was from High Command.

Considering that it was the middle of the night on the base, that meant that it was undoubtedly important. “Kanan, I’m getting another call. Can I comm you back after? You actually haven’t even told me how it’s going over there lately.”

“Sure,” he said, rising to his feet. “Gives me a chance to find my shirt and the refresher... Maybe not in that order.” 

Her amused smile returned. “Good luck.” (While Kanan's Force sight allowed him to see many things such as solid walls and living signatures, non living things like shirts didn't show up very well.

“Thanks,” he said dryly, and then his holo image disappeared.

Hera pushed the button to answer the second call. An image of a concerned looking Mon Mothma showed up, dressed in a night robe and her short hair sticking up comically. “Hera. Good. You’re awake.”

“I often am. What is it, Mon?”

“We just received a call from Gerrera that I’ve since confirmed with our spy network. It’s very troublesome. Rather than repeating it, I’ll just play it for you.”

“All right,” she nodded, worry starting to invade once again.

Mothma’s image flickered out and was replaced by the gruff looking countenance of Saw Gerrera.

“This message is for my gifted friends who helped me out on Geonosis and who I believe are now on Mandalore, so if you could please pass it on, I would appreciate it."

_How the kriff does he know that? Does Gerrera have an informant here?_

_Of course he does._

"One of my spies, who is placed on a Star Destroyer in the Coruscant Defence Fleet, said that half of their ships were sent to a rendezvous location no more than four hours from Mandalorian space and that they met up with Vader’s flagship. They have amassed a fleet more than a hundred strong so far and more ISD’s are popping in every minute. My spy doesn’t know how long they will remain there before they move out, but the rumours flying around the ship is that the transmission from the new Mandalorian leader has riled the Empire into eliminating the Mandalorians once and for all.”

_What transmission? What did I miss?_

Gerrera paused, his expression looking almost afraid. “There’s something else that I wasn’t going to tell you all about yet, but I think I have to. I have another spy in the Kuat Drive Yards and she says that they’ve been building multiple units of something big. Really big. As in almost twelve times bigger than a regular ISD. And one of them is ready to go with a crew arriving and everything. Rumour is that they’re only waiting for one of the bigwigs to come inspect it before it’s deployed in the next day or so. My guess is that Vader's attack won't happen until that dreadnaught joins their massive fleet and then Mandalore is toast. I don’t like the looks of this at all, and if it were Onderon, I’d be evacuating the planet while I still could. But they’re Mandos so who knows what they’ll do. Just… don’t go down with them.”

Hera was holding her thudding heart in her chest, throat tight and eyes wide with terror as Gerrera’s recorded image was replaced with Mothma’s live one again. Mon gave her a sympathetic look. “That’s pretty much how I reacted as well. You need to call your Jedi and get them out of there. Tell the Mandalorians, too, since you’re our closest link to them. We can’t fight this battle for them, we’re just not ready for an all out war of that scale. In another year, maybe. Just... not now. But what we can do is offer them sanctuary on various planets throughout the galaxy. Tell them that, please. You can give them my frequency.”

Her swallowed hard. “I… I will. What… What transmission was he talking about?”

Mon grimaced. “I was going to show everyone that in the morning as we all cheered for the Mandos in their success, but I don’t think this is going to end up the way they think it is anymore. I’ll play that one for you as well, then promptly end the call so you can comm your crew.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

This time Mothma’s image was replaced by a red-headed Human woman with durasteel infused green eyes and wearing blue and grey armour. There was something about her that practically screamed ‘I am a Badass and I have no problem killing you if you annoy me.’ She also had the Darksabre blatantly hanging from the front of her belt. _This has to be Sabine’s distant cousin that she once told me about and that she looked up to. The one who temporarily won Mandalore back from Darth Maul until the Empire took over practically the next day. Bo something, I think her name was. I doubt Sabine would give the Darksabre to anyone else._

The recording’s opening words confirmed her theory.

“I am Duchess Bo-Katan Kryze, the new Mand’alor,” the warrior woman said in a no-nonsense tone. “And as such, I am the new leader of all of the Mandalorian systems. We will no longer recognize Imperial rule, and as of right now, I’m declaring all Imperial ships to be trespassing in our space and they will be seized or destroyed if they don’t immediately jump out of the Mandalorian sector.” She glared at the camera as if daring the Imperials to do anything else.

_I can see why Sabine gave her the Darksabre. This woman is born to rule a warrior people._

“Furthermore, any facilities and supplies located on our worlds will be seized and or destroyed.” An image of a smouldering Star Destroyer crashed on the ground by the dome of Sundari replaced her person for three seconds. “As you can see, I’ve already begun by taking control of or eradicating the Star Destroyers located on Mandalore. For those Imperials that are caught, you will be given three choices. Whether you live, die, or get locked up for the rest of your life in the pits of a mining planet is entirely up to you. Anyone wishing to switch their allegiance to the Mandalorian way of life will be allowed a trial period to prove your sincerity. Those who were raised Mandalorian but switched their allegiance to the Empire either by choice or by force will also be given a second chance. But not a third.” The unspoken warning was clear enough in her tone and her hard green eyes. “Those who wish to stay loyal to the Empire can pick either of the latter choices.”

Another image of the fiery woman appeared, this time with her holding the ignited lightsabre to the throat of an Imperial in a Captain’s uniform as a row of officers knelt in handcuffs behind him. The image lasted only long enough to see her swing her arm back for a killing blow to the man with hate in his eyes before it cut off and returned to the previous version of her standing calmly and alone. No one in their right mind would question her when she finished with, “This is your Mand’alor, and I have spoken.”

_Holy poodoo, have you ever. _

_And look what it’s going to cost you._

Hera commed Kanan back via Chopper.

When Kanan's image popped back up, he looked almost as worried as she felt. And he was on the move. 

"Hera. Sorry, I'll have to comm you back again in a bit. Ezra just told me that there's some dangerous emotions brewing in the camp and that Ketsu looks fit to murder someone. I'm off to try and keep everyone's heads intact, at least."

"But..." Was all she got to say before his image vanished. 

Hera huffed in disgust. "Mandos and their bloody hot-headed emotions are going to be their own undoing," she muttered.

_Might as well go have a shower and get dressed for the day; there's no way I'm getting back to sleep now. _

_And then I'll comm Chopper again until he makes Kanan and those bloodthirsty Mandos listen. _


	25. Take What You Want (part 2)

**A/N: I am amused.**

**Why am I amused you ask?**

**Because someone or someones used the power of the guest option to leave 22 kudos’ on both versions of this story on Sunday so that it would stay ahead of ‘Old Friends’ in the weekly update reward race.**

**Now that is a determination that I can only respect. :D**

**But it got me thinking that it’s really not fair to ‘Old Friends’ because the two versions of this story really aren’t the same anymore in basically the same way that ‘He’s Gone’ and ‘He’s Not Allowed to Be Gone’ aren’t the same anymore, and I don’t count them together as one story so I shouldn’t be doing so for this one either. **

**Thus, I have renamed this story and this will be the last time it gets the weekly update spot until it earns its way back to the top the hard way. (You guys have a LOT of faving to do if you want to catch back up to ‘Old Friends’, just sayin’. :P It has almost 600 kudos’ on Ao3 alone already.) **

* * *

**Take What You Want (part 2):**

_Mandalore..._

Bo may have whimpered into Fenn’s addictive kisses, but she’d never admit it. All she knew for sure was that if he stopped, she would probably start growling instead.

Somehow, despite the fact that their mouths were permanently attached, Fenn had them both undressed down to just their underwear already and they’d only been in her tent for maybe ten minutes.

_At least, I think it’s only been ten minutes. It could be more and I’d never know it. Shab, he’s good at this. _

She nearly smiled into his kiss as her bra disappeared too.

But then so did his mouth from hers.

She growled and tightened her grip on his head to pull him back.

He chuckled against her jaw as he kissed it. “Easy there, ner mesh’la akaan’ad, you’ll like this too.”

The growl died in her throat at his sweetly murmured words, and turned into a hum of approval as he moved his lips down to her neck and somehow found the perfect spot to suck and nibble on to make her eyes roll back. Her hands found the back of his broad shoulders and tensed, digging her nails into his skin. Fortunately for him, she kept her nails in neat little crescents only a couple millimetres long, unlike some women who trim their nails into literal claws. (Bad idea if you’ve ever tried making a fist like that.)

_He’s right. I like this too. _

She loosened her grip on him as he shifted even further downwards to the upper swell of her chest, lips dragging sensuously over her skin the entire way. She ran her fingers along the strong lines of his back and along his upper arms instead, loving the feel of his hard muscles covered in skin only slightly rougher than hers. As he muttered praises regarding the beauty of her breasts whilst exploring them with both mouth and hands, Bo siphoned enough of her focus towards removing the last two articles of cloth that kept them covered.

Using her toes, she pushed his undershorts off his hips and down his legs. Then she reluctantly gave up her exploration of his muscles, skin, and intriguing scars to reach down and push her own panties off as quickly as possible. 

With that taken care of, Bo’s hands found his narrow hips where they rested beside her and travelled around to his tautly rounded backside, caressing and kneading it appreciatively much the same way he was to the breast not currently in his mouth. He groaned into her already tingling nipple, making her shiver deliciously, so she moved her hands around to his front side.

Bo smiled wickedly into his short, brilliant hair a few shades closer to orange than her own red locks as he groaned even louder when she took his blatant maleness in her hands and stroked from base to head and back. _Nice. Very nice. There’s certainly nothing lacking about this man, that’s for sure. _

_And now to see how we fit, because time’s a tickin’ and I feel like I’ve been waiting for this for years. _

Dropping her prize for the moment, Bo moved her hands up to his shoulders and pushed him over onto his back. She swept her gaze down the length of his thickly built warrior’s body, very pleased with what she saw, and then back up to his surprised blue eyes that never failed to make her heart stutter at the gorgeous colour usually only found in glacier ice or tropical oceans. She smirked at his raised eyebrow. “My turn to take what I want.”

His eyebrow rose higher as an answering smirk twitched on his finely sculpted lips. “Whatever my Mand’alor wishes.”

“As it should be,” she teased back, leaning forward to kiss the smile off his mouth for a second or three. Then she swung a leg over his ridged abdomen and placed one hand on his shoulder for balance and the other reached behind her for the cock standing appropriately at attention like a good soldier and settled herself down onto it.

The slide of his thick length into her rarely used channel was worth the whimper of pained pleasure that escaped.

When she was fully seated, their nearly matching pubic hairs rubbing together in a way that garnered more tingles, she opened her eyes that she hadn’t even realized that she’d closed and looked at Fenn.

His eyes were closed too, he was practically panting, and his hands were locked in big fists by her knees. She remained still on him until he opened his eyes a few seconds later. Their gazes locked and the knowledge that this was RIGHT passed between them without any words being spoken. Then she leaned forward until his pelvic bone pressed against her clit, placed one hand on the bed beside his head, and whispered in his ear, “Touch me.”

“Gladly.” His hands were on her hips in less than a second and guiding her up his length at the same time that she was rising.

Their eyes stayed locked together as they rocked slowly for a few thrusts, just leaning the feeling of such a perfect joining, and then Fenn held her still above him with his strong hands and thrust up into her, hard and deep. Bo gasped and he smiled again, his eyes darkening wickedly.

“More, please more,” she wheezed from empty lungs as he drove the air right of her with rapid thrusts that felt like he was trying to make contact with her heart.

Fenn’s response to that was to flip them over, push her knees up to her chest, drive his cock back into her, and then lean over her folded up body with his hands planted on either side of her head and thrust like a jackhammer as he kissed every last brain cell right out of her.

With nothing left to do but feel the building tension in her core inspired by his forceful movements, Bo wrapped her arms around his shoulders, dug her nails back into his skin, and moaned an endless litany of smothered yeses into his mouth.

* * *

As Ezra ran towards Bo-Katan’s tent, he checked his bond with Kanan and was relieved to find his Master no longer blocking out the world.

_“Kanan!”_

_“What is it, Ezra?”_

_“You might want to come out to the gathering area. Something’s got the Mandos on edge. Sabine actually feels afraid for some reason that I don’t understand. And I just saw Ketsu with the same expression on her face as that time she caught that Weequay smacking around a young slave girl on Garel.”_

_“Oh. That’s not good. I’m on my way.”_

_“Good. I’ve been sent to get Lady Kry… Oh, karabast.” _Ezra stared at Bo-Katan’s tent in dismay as the distinct sound of a rapidly squeaking cot and muffled moans escaped through the thick fabric.

_“What? What is it?”_

Ezra rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his face heat with discomfort. _“Uhhhhh…. Lady Kryze and Rau are ummmm, furthering their new friendship. Intimately. Very intimately.”_

Kanan snorted in his mind. _“I saw that coming yesterday. Surprised it took them so long.”_

_"Yeah, like there was time amidst all the battles,” _Ezra thought with a mental eye roll.

_“I’ve worked with worse.”_

Ezra rolled his eyes for real at his Master’s smug tone. _“Unfortunately, I know.”_

Kanan sent him a mental smirk. _“Jedi moves, kid. Useful for more than just fighting the bad… _ _Hang on, Hera’s comming me back.”_

_"But, Kanan! What am I…”_

_“Just… wait for them, I guess,” _Kanan’s mental tone interrupted quickly. And then he was gone.

“Kriff,” Ezra grumbled under his breath as he glared at the tent in front of him. The erotic sounds from within were understandably inspiring and he really didn’t want to go there. Not when he had to look at and talk to the people in question who knows how many more times in the future. Ezra started pacing back and forth in front of the tent like a possessed guard. “Wait for them, he says. Easy for him to say. He’s not the one who’s getting a free sound show that he really doesn’t want while something interesting and a lot less stimulating is happening elsewhere. How do I always end up with the crappy jobs, anyway?”

Ezra’s pacing and muttering had been enough of a distraction that he almost missed the fact that the squeaking had stopped. _Finally. _(It had only been a minute or two.)

He squared his shoulders and walked up to the door. Slowly. And raised his hand to knock even slower. _Here goes. Hope they don’t kill me._

* * *

Fenn’s mental facilities were pretty much on hold as he put everything his body had into making his beautiful, lithe yet mouthwateringly curvy, red-headed warrior Duchess scream his name to the stars.

His hips were going faster than a Jedi starfighter, his mouth was swallowing her gasps and mewls, and the one hand not needed to hold his torso above her was busy at the top of her slit, rubbing circles like mad on her bud of sensation.

On top of that, the sheer pleasure of pistoning in and out of her incredibly tight channel while her nails made sharp little shocks of pain on his back was short-circuiting his nerve endings from scalp to toes.

He could feel her tensing beneath him, her slick passage tightening even further, and her back starting to arch despite how he’d positioned her for optimum angle and depth.

“Come for me, cyar’ika,” he demanded in a husky whisper against her parted lips. “Come for me now!”

Like she was born to obey his sensual commands, Bo did just that, her head thrown back, her nails digging in to his muscles, and her channel clamping down on him like a vise before it started fluttering rhythmically.

Fenn sealed in the cry that almost erupted from her mouth with his own, having just enough brain cells left to think that maybe she wouldn’t want the entire camp to know what she was doing. Then he thrust twice more and found his own release in an explosion that felt like his spine was trying to evacuate along with his seed. _Shab! Shab! Shab! Stars, I love this woman. _

With an arm that trembled, Fenn held his position above her, forehead coming to rest on hers as they panted through the aftershocks. He managed to drag his other hand up her body and onto the bed to help the first arm out as he they stared at each other with matching wonder in their eyes. “You have replaced my skeptical heart with your own,” he whispered after a moment.

Her stunning jade green eyes widened and then softened as she moved her hands up to pet his sweat dampened hair and shifted her legs down to wrap around his own, claiming him and holding his slowly softening cock inside her. She smiled softly and whispered back, “Same, Fenn Rau. I’d given up on finding my cyar’ika. I should not have.”

Fenn beamed like a little boy, his chest feeling fuller with joy than he could ever remember. “Neither should I have. Bo-Katan Kryze, will you say the vows with me?”

She blinked once and then her mouth spread into an equally wide smile. “I will.”

“Thank you, Bo’ika.” He dipped his head to kiss her softly and then started to whisper, “Mhi solus...” when they heard a tentative knock on one of the support posts by the door. The beginning of the marriage vows turned into a growled, “Haar’chak!”

Bo snorted under her breath and pushed him off of her. “Duty calls, ad’ika,” she said with a roll of her eyes at his grunt of surprise.

_I can’t believe she called me baby, _he thought as he sprawled almost bonelessly on his back. _At least it was the affectionate form of the word._

“Elek?” she called out as she rolled off the bed and started dressing with impressive speed.

“I’m very sorry to bother you, Lady Kryze,” came the apologetic voice of Ezra Bridger in Basic. “But Sabine sent me to get you. Something’s going down with Ketsu.”

Bo paused with one leg half in her leggings. “Onyo?”

“Yes.”

“Osik, I bet she’s going to confront her father,” Bo said quietly to Fenn as she continued dressing even faster.

“Undoubtedly.” Fenn was inspired to roll his tired body off the bed and do the same.

“We’ll be right there!” Bo called through the tent as she pushed her arms into the sleeves of the upper half of her bodysuit.

“Kay!” Ezra called back, then they heard the sound of boots leaving at a swift jog.

Bo followed only a few seconds later, only strapping on her blasters before leaving.

Fenn took half a second to admire her hourglass form in black, formfitting armorweave before he was rushing to catch up, also leaving the tent without armour and wearing just his bodysuit, boots, and gun belt.

_I hope this doesn’t take too long because it would surely be nice to get another round of loving in before we have to go back to war. _

_And I don’t care how, but we’re saying our vows before that happens. _

* * *

_Mando’a translations:_

_Elek - Yes_

_Mesh’la – Beautiful_

_Akaan’ad – Badass warrior. _

_ **(Yes, I know that 'Verd' is listed as the word for soldier or warrior, but I like this one better. Akaan means war. And Akaan'ade means army. To me, a person who is Akaan'ad would refer to someone who could be a one-person army. If Bo doesn't qualify as such than I don't know who would. :P) ** _


End file.
